Ethnic minorities in England less likely to get breast cancer diagnosis from routine screening

A recent study by academics at the University of Surrey, funded by the charity Breast Cancer Now, has found that people from minority ethnic backgrounds in England are up to a third less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer via routine screening. The research, which involved analysis of 86,564 adults diagnosed with the disease between 2009 and 2019, found that people from Black, Asian and mixed backgrounds, alongside people from deprived backgrounds, were up to 33% less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer via screening.

The analysis also found that these groups were up to 31% more likely to be diagnosed via urgent suspected cancer referral, and up to 37% more likely to be diagnosed via emergency presentation. Manveet Basra, the associate director of public health, inclusion and awareness at Breast Cancer Now, stated that the analysis revealed that people from marginalised groups “face inequalities at every stage of their breast cancer experience, and tragically this impacts their survival rates”.

The research also highlighted that people living with a learning disability faced poorer cancer outcomes, with their time to diagnosis being 18% longer than people without a learning disability, and a 10% longer wait time for treatment. This adds to existing evidence of the unequal outcomes people from marginalised backgrounds face in regards to cancer.

The study's findings suggest that inequalities in access to screening and timely treatment may be part of the explanation for poorer breast cancer survival rates in certain groups. Dr Rob Kerrison, an associate professor of cancer care and co-lead of the cancer care expert group at the University of Surrey, stated that women from a range of disadvantaged and under-served groups were less likely to have their cancer detected through screening and often waited longer to start treatment.