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Using CMR data from 2005-2010, we sought to examine whether digital screening mammography performance differs between black and white women. We examined 256,470 digital screening mammograms performed among 31,654 black and 133,152 white women aged 40 years or older. Among the study participants breast cancer was diagnosed in 276 black and 1,095 white women. Recall rates were similar for blacks and whites (8.6 vs. 8.5 %), as were sensitivity (83.7 vs. 82.4 %), specificity (91.8 vs. 91.9 %), and PPV1 (4.8 vs. 5.3 %) (all p values >0.05). Stratified and adjusted models showed similar results. Despite comparable mammography performance, tumors diagnosed in black women were more commonly poorly differentiated and hormone receptor negative. This study demonstrates equivalent performance of digital screening mammography by race. Future efforts to understand tumor disparities should focus on etiologic factors that influence tumor biology.

To read more, see the following article on the Cancer Causes & Control website: Performance of Digital Screening Mammography in a Population-Based Cohort of Black and White Women