When breast cancer is detected and treated early, the chances of survival are very high. However, women in many settings face complex barriers to early detection, including social, economic, geographic, and other interrelated factors, which can limit their access to timely, affordable, and effective breast health care services. Previously, the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) developed resource-stratified guidelines for the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. In this consensus article from the sixth BHGI Global Summit held in October 2018, the authors describe phases of early detection program development, beginning with management strategies required for the diagnosis of clinically detectable disease based on awareness education and technical training, history and physical examination, and accurate tissue diagnosis. The core issues address include finance and governance, which pertain to successful planning, implementation, and the iterative process of program improvement and are needed for a breast cancer early detection program to succeed in any resource setting. Examples are presented of implementation, process, and clinical outcome metrics that assist in program implementation monitoring. Country case examples are presented to highlight the challenges and opportunities of implementing successful breast cancer early detection programs, and the complex interplay of barriers and facilitators to achieving early detection for breast cancer in real-world settings are considered. Cancer 2020;126:2379-2393.

BACKGROUND:The objectives of this study were to determine the age-standardized and age-specific annual US cervical cancer mortality rates after correction for the prevalence of hysterectomy and to evaluate disparities by age and race. METHODS: Estimates for deaths due to cervical cancer stratified by age, state, year, and race were derived from the National Center for Health Statistics county mortality data (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012). Equivalently stratified data on the prevalence of hysterectomy for women 20 years old or older from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey were used to remove women who were not at risk from the denominator. Agespecific and age-standardized mortality rates were computed, and trends in mortality rates were analyzed with Joinpoint regression. RESULTS: Age-standardized rates were higher for both races after correction. For black women, the corrected mortality rate was 10.1 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.6-10.6), whereas the uncorrected rate was 5.7 per 100,000 (95% CI, 5.5-6.0). The corrected rate for white women was 4.7 per 100,000 (95% CI, 4.6-4.8), whereas the uncorrected rate was 3.2 per 100,000 (95% CI, 3.1-3.2). Without the correction, the disparity in mortality between races was underestimated by 44%. Black women who were 85 years old or older had the highest corrected rate: 37.2 deaths per 100,000. A trend analysis of corrected rates demonstrated that white women's rates decreased at 0.8% per year, whereas the annual decrease for black women was 3.6% (P <.05). CONCLUSIONS: A correction for hysterectomy has revealed that cervical cancer mortality rates are underestimated, particularly in black women. The highest rates are seen in the oldest black women, and public health efforts should focus on appropriate screening and adequate treatment in this population. Cancer 2017;123:1044-50. V C 2017 American Cancer Society. KEYWORDS:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, cervical cancer, disparities, hysterectomy, mortality, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER). INTRODUCTIONEach year in the United States, more than 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and more than 4,000 women die of it.1 Racial minorities, particularly black women, have significantly higher incidence and mortality rates for this disease. [2][3][4][5][6][7] Prior studies have shown that a failure to account for the prevalence of hysterectomy has resulted in an underestimation of cervical cancer incidence rates because women who have had their cervix surgically removed are inappropriately retained in the population-at-risk denominator. 2,3,8 This underestimation has the most profound effect in black women because they have the highest prevalence of hysterectomy: age specific cervical cancer incidence rates in black women increase by as much as 125% after correction, whereas there is an 83% increase in white women of the same age.2 As such, the uncorrected race-specific incidence rates represent an underestimat...

PURPOSE Mammography is not always available or feasible. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the diagnostic performance of ultrasound as a primary tool for early detection of breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we comprehensively searched PubMed and SCOPUS to identify articles from January 2000 to December 2018 that included data on the performance of ultrasound for detection of breast cancer. Studies evaluating portable, handheld ultrasound as an independent detection modality for breast cancer were included. Quality assessment and bias analysis were performed with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. Sensitivity analyses and meta-regression were used to explore heterogeneity. The study protocol has been registered with the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO identifier: CRD42019127752). RESULTS Of the 526 identified studies, 26 were eligible for inclusion. Ultrasound had an overall pooled sensitivity and specificity of 80.1% (95% CI, 72.2% to 86.3%) and 88.4% (95% CI, 79.8% to 93.6%), respectively. When only low- and middle-income country data were considered, ultrasound maintained a diagnostic sensitivity of 89.2% and specificity of 99.1%. Meta-analysis of the included studies revealed heterogeneity. The high sensitivity of ultrasound for the detection of breast cancer was not statistically significantly different in subgroup analyses on the basis of mean age, risk, symptoms, study design, bias level, and study setting. CONCLUSION Given the increasing burden of breast cancer and infeasibility of mammography in certain settings, we believe these results support the potential use of ultrasound as an effective primary detection tool for breast cancer, which may be beneficial in low-resource settings where mammography is unavailable.

BACKGROUND:The Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) established a series of resource-stratified, evidence-based guidelines to address breast cancer control in the context of available resources. Here, the authors describe methodologies and health system prerequisites to support the translation and implementation of these guidelines into practice. METHODS: In October 2018, the BHGI convened the Sixth Global Summit on Improving Breast Healthcare Through Resource-Stratified Phased Implementation. The purpose of the summit was to define a stepwise methodology (phased implementation) for guiding the translation of resource-appropriate breast cancer control guidelines into real-world practice. Three expert consensus panels developed stepwise, resource-appropriate recommendations for implementing these guidelines in low-income and middle-income countries as well as underserved communities in high-income countries. Each panel focused on 1 of 3 specific aspects of breast cancer care: 1) early detection, 2) treatment, and 3) health system strengthening. RESULTS: Key findings from the summit and subsequent article preparation included the identification of phased-implementation prerequisites that were explored during consensus debates. These core issues and concepts are key components for implementing breast health care that consider real-world resource constraints. Communication and engagement across all levels of care is vital to any effectively operating health care system, including effective communication with ministries of health and of finance, to demonstrate needs, outcomes, and cost benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Underserved communities at all economic levels require effective strategies to deploy scarce resources to ensure access to timely, effective, and affordable health care. Systematically strategic approaches translating guidelines into practice are needed to build health system capacity to meet the current and anticipated global breast cancer burden. Cancer 2020;126:2339-2352.

BackgroundNearly 70% of all cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and many of these cancer deaths are preventable. In high-income countries (HICs), patient navigation strategies have been successfully implemented to facilitate the patient’s journey at multiple points along the cancer care continuum. The purpose of this scoping review is to understand and describe the scope of patient navigation interventions and services employed in LMICs.MethodsA systematic search of published articles was conducted including Medline, Biosis, Embase, Global Health, and Web of Science. Articles were examined for evidence of patient navigation interventions used in cancer care in LMICs. Evidence was synthesized by navigation service provided and by type of outcome.ResultsFourteen studies reported on patient navigation interventions in cancer care in low-income and middle-income countries in Asia, South America, and Africa. Most studies reported on women’s cancers and included navigation interventions at most points along the cancer care continuum i.e. awareness, education, screening participation, adherence to treatment and surveillance protocols.ConclusionFew studies report on cancer patient navigation in LMICs. With the use of an implementation science framework, patient navigation research can explore a broader range of outcomes to better evaluate its potential role in improving cancer control in LMICs.