Breast Cancer Screening Research Articles (Page 10)

This study aimed to validate a culturally adapted Health Belief Model (HBM) questionnaire for assessing breast cancer screening beliefs among Chinese women and to evaluate its structural validity and measurement invariance. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 314 women aged 18–70 in Guizhou Province, China, using multistage sampling. The original HBM questionnaire underwent cultural adaptation and expert content review. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the factor structure, and measurement invariance was tested across residential settings and age groups. A seven-factor solution was identified, encompassing all six core HBM constructs, with self-efficacy splitting into two empirically distinct dimensions. The final 41-item model demonstrated strong model fit (CFI = 0.914, TLI = 0.906, RMSEA = 0.059, SRMR = 0.060), high internal consistency (ω ≥ 0.88), and full invariance across subgroups. Convergent validity and inter-construct correlations aligned with theoretical expectations. In particular, strong positive associations were observed among self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and cues to action, while perceived barriers showed inverse relationships with perceived severity and risk perception. These findings offer empirical justification for both single-construct and multi-construct intervention strategies. The validated scale provides a psychometrically sound and culturally grounded tool for identifying psychological barriers to screening among Chinese women. It may guide the design of theory-informed public health interventions that address individual belief profiles and promote screening uptake.

Background: By reliably classifying screening mammograms as negative, artificial intelligence (AI) could minimize radiologists' time spent reviewing high volumes of normal examinations and help prioritize examinations with high likelihood of malignancy. Objective: To compare performance of AI, classified as positive at different thresholds, with that of radiologists, focusing on NPV and recall rates, in large population-based digital mammography (DM) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) screening cohorts. Methods: This retrospective single-institution study included women enrolled in the observational population-based Athena Breast Health Network. Stratified random sampling was used to identify cohorts of DM and DBT screening examinations performed from January 2010 through December 2019. Radiologists' interpretations were extracted from clinical reports. A commercial AI system classified examinations as low, intermediate, or elevated risk. Breast cancer diagnoses within 1 year after screening examinations were identified from a state cancer registry. AI and radiologist performance were compared. Results: The DM cohort included 26,693 examinations in 20,409 women (mean age, 58.1 years). AI classified 58.2%, 27.7%, and 14.0% of examinations as low, intermediate, and elevated risk, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, recall rate and NPV for radiologists were 88.6%, 93.3%, 7.2%, and 99.9%; for AI (defining positive as elevated risk), 74.4%, 86.3%, 14.0%, and 99.8%; and for AI (defining positive as intermediate/elevated risk), 94.0%, 58.6%, 41.8%, and 99.9%. The DBT cohort included 4824 examinations in 4379 women (mean age, 61.3 years). AI classified 68.1%, 19.8%, and 12.1% of examinations as low, intermediate, and elevated risk, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, recall rate, and NPV for radiologists were 83.8%, 93.7%, 6.9%, and 99.9%; for AI (defining positive results as elevated risk), 78.4%, 88.4%, 12.1%, and 99.8%; and for AI (defining positive results as intermediate/elevated risk), 89.2%, 68.5%, 31.9%, and 99.8%. Conclusion: In large DM and DBT cohorts, AI at either diagnostic threshold achieved high NPV but had higher recall rates than radiologists. Defining positive AI results to include intermediate-risk examinations, versus only elevated-risk examinations, detected additional cancers but yielded markedly increased recall rates. Clinical Impact: The findings support AI's potential to aid radiologists' workflow efficiency. Yet, strategies are needed to address frequent false-positive results, particularly in the intermediate-risk category.

Although numerous breast cancer risk prediction models have been developed to categorize individuals by risk, a substantial gap persists in evaluating how well these models predict actual mortality outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the association between Mirai, a deep learning model for risk prediction based on mammography, and breast cancer-specific mortality in a large cohort of Korean women. This retrospective cohort study examined 124,653 cancer-free women aged ≥ 34years who underwent mammography screening between 2009-2020. Participants were stratified into tertiles by Mirai risk scores and categorized into four groups based on risk changes over time. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the associations of both baseline Mirai scores and temporal risk changes with breast cancer-specific mortality. Over 1,075,177 person-years of follow-up, 31 breast cancer-related deaths occurred. The highest Mirai risk tertile showed significantly higher breast cancer-specific mortality than the lowest tertile (hazard ratio [HR], 5.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-24.39; p for trend = 0.020). Temporal Mirai score changes were associated with mortality risk: those remaining in the high-risk (HR, 5.92; 95% CI 1.43-24.49) or moving from low to high risk (HR, 5.57; 95% CI 1.31-23.63) had higher mortality rates than those staying in low-risk. The Mirai model, developed to predict breast cancer incidence, was significantly associated with breast cancer-specific mortality. Changes in Mirai risk scores over time were also linked to breast cancer-specific mortality, supporting AI-based risk models in guiding risk-stratified screening and prevention of breast cancer-related deaths.

ObjectiveAccurate segmentation of breast lesions, especially small ones, remains challenging in digital mammography due to complex anatomical structures and low-contrast boundaries. This study proposes DVF-YOLO-Seg, a two-stage segmentation framework designed to improve feature extraction and enhance small-lesion detection performance in mammographic images.MethodsThe proposed method integrates an enhanced YOLOv10-based detection module with a segmentation stage based on the Visual Reference Prompt Segment Anything Model (VRP-SAM). A novel DualConv module is introduced to improve spatial, visual, and channel feature representation, while Varifocal Loss addresses class imbalance by emphasizing hard-to-detect lesions. The detection results are used to generate bounding box prompts for VRP-SAM, which refines the final lesion segmentation.ResultsExperiments on the curated breast imaging subset of the digital database for screening mammography dataset demonstrate that DVF-YOLO-Seg achieves a precision of 79.7%, a recall of 81.5%, a dice coefficient of 80.2%, and an F1-score of 80.6%, outperforming baseline models. Particularly for lesions <5 mm, the model shows improved sensitivity. Ablation studies confirm the effectiveness of the DualConv module and Varifocal Loss. Additionally, the framework shows better visual consistency and clearer boundaries in clinician-evaluated results.ConclusionDVF-YOLO-Seg significantly enhances the detection and segmentation accuracy for small breast lesions in mammography. By combining improved detection with prompt-based segmentation, this method offers a promising approach for computer-aided diagnosis in breast cancer screening.

Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant global health concern for women and is the leading cancer affecting female reproductive health. Research indicates that educational campaigns are effective in reducing its prevalence by enhancing awareness, which promotes early detection and improves treatment outcomes. This study aimed to assess the impact of an educational program on BC screening awareness among female teachers at St. Louis Grammar School in Akure and Ondo, utilizing a quasi-experimental design. The results revealed an average knowledge gain of 18.02 points following the intervention, with significant differences in knowledge observed immediately and four weeks post-intervention (p=0.000). Marital status emerged as the only socio-demographic factor significantly associated with knowledge levels (p=0.006). While the participants showed general awareness of breast cancer (BC) and breast cancer screening methods, they displayed a lack of comprehensive knowledge. The study concludes with a recommendation for targeted educational campaigns aimed at women to mitigate the burden and mortality associated with BC.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensors have attracted extensive attention in biomarker detection owing to their high sensitivity, operational simplicity, and low cost. However, conventional PEC sensors are susceptible to generate false-positive results in complex biological matrices, due to nonspecific binding at the sensing interfaces. The dual-channel design can reduce the false detection rate and improve detection accuracy through mutual verification and complementation of the two signals, we demonstrate herein a novel bias-modulated dual-channel PEC immunosensor for the efficient detection of the breast cancer biomarker CA15-3. Two photoactive materials, In4SnS8/Bi2O2S and BiOBr0.8I0.2, are separately assembled on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and act as anode and cathode sensing regions, respectively. By precisely tuning the bias of the electrode, anode and cathode PEC signals can be acquired independently. Furthermore, ZnFe2O4 is exploited as a dual-responsive nanolabel, which can enhance the anode signal but reduce the cathode signal when attached to the electrode by immunorecognition. The two independent noninterfering signals on one electrode were integrated to enhance both sensitivity and accuracy. This work offers a new strategy for early breast cancer screening and holds significant promise for clinical diagnostic applications.

The association between physical activity and mammography screening utilization: a longitudinal analysis, health retirement study (2004–2016)

Breast cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed and second leading cause of cancer death among US women, is detected by screening methods including mammograms, breast MRIs, and genetic testing. There are known disparities in rural cancer care, including observed disparities in breast cancer screening. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the rural cancer gap overall. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of various breast cancer screening methods among rural and urban women post-pandemic. We used weighted data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey on 15,745 women, including 2,432 rural women. We obtained unadjusted sociodemographic predictors of breast cancer screenings as well as six unadjusted breast cancer screening outcomes. We then built Firth penalized regressions estimating adjusted odds of all six outcomes in rural versus urban women in our sample. Rural women were less likely to have ever had a mammogram (60.8% vs. 64.6%, p = 0.017), and marginally less likely to have ever discussed genetic testing (8.9% vs. 10.3%, p = 0.093) or have ever gotten genetic testing for cancer risk (5.4% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.05). After adjustment, odds of ever discussing genetic testing with a doctor remained marginally lower for rural than urban women (aOR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.74-1.02). Rural-urban differences in breast cancer screening outcomes were attenuated after adjustment for sociodemographic factors, suggesting these factors primarily drive observed disparities. Addressing these upstream social determinants of health could help improve rural breast cancer screening disparities.

Breast cancer incidence is increasing globally, and it is the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women in Cambodia. This study explores how access to digital tools, media exposure, transportation, travel time to health facilities, and autonomy in health decisions relate to breast cancer screening among Cambodian women aged 15-49. The study used nationally representative, cross-sectional data from the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) 2021-2022. After excluding 204 women who were unaware of breast or cervical cancer screening, the final weighted sample comprised 19,292 participants. The outcome was whether a woman had ever received a breast examination from a healthcare provider, encompassing clinical breast examinations (CBEs) and imaging techniques, such as mammograms. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, was used. Only 10.9% (95% CI: 9.7%-11.6%) of women had undergone a breast exam. Exposure to multiple forms of media was associated with a higher odds of screening (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.13-1.91). Phone ownership-both non-smartphone (AOR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.03-1.78) or smartphone (AOR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.03-1.82)-was also positively associated. In contrast, longer travel times of over 30 minutes (AOR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.39-0.78) and a lack of autonomy in healthcare decisions (AOR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.52-0.94) were associated with reduced screening. Wealthier women had greater odds of being screened (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.40-2.48). These findings highlight the need for health initiatives that use digital communication to reach and emphasize the importance of improving transportation, and support women's decision-making to increase screening rates in Cambodia.

Clinical Implementation Study of Genetic Risk-Based Breast Cancer Screening.

IntroductionBreast cancer is a major public health challenge and the most common malignancy among women globally. Screening remains one of the most effective strategies for reducing late-stage diagnoses. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with breast cancer screening among young women in Tanzania.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey, including women aged 15-35 years. The outcome was self-reported breast cancer screening, defined as preventive practices among asymptomatic women, including breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE), or mammography. Logistic regression models were applied to identify factors associated with screening.ResultsA total of 10 733 women (mean age 24 ± 5.9 years) were analyzed. The prevalence of breast cancer screening was 3.39% (95% CI: 3.07-3.75). Higher odds of screening were observed among women aged 25-35 years (aOR 2.30), those with primary or higher education (aORs ≈ 2.15), who were married/cohabiting (aOR 1.52), employed in professional or skilled manual occupations (aORs ≈ 1.70), aware of their HIV-positive status (aOR 2.59), covered by health insurance (aOR 2.59), and using modern contraceptives (aOR 1.40). In contrast, women residing in the Western zone had lower odds of screening (aOR 0.34).ConclusionBreast cancer screening among young Tanzanian women was uncommon. Screening was associated with sociodemographic, reproductive, and health system factors, with particularly low uptake in the Western zone. These findings suggest the need to consider integrating breast health education into family planning and HIV services, expanding health insurance coverage, and implementing targeted outreach in underserved regions to enhance early detection and reduce disparities.

Breast and cervical cancer screening uptake remains limited in Ghana despite the public health importance of cancer screening. This study examines factors that influence this behavior. Secondary analyses of the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) were conducted. A total of 9,489 women between the ages of 25 to 49 years were evaluated for clinical breast examination (CBE) and cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptakes. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were fitted to examine factors that influence women utilization of CBE and CCS. Women in the richer and richest quintiles of wealth index were 40% (AOR=1.40; 95%CI: 1.00 - 1.97) and 118% (AOR=2.18; 95%CI: 1.51 - 3.16) significantly more likely to attain CBE compared to women in the poorest quintile. Women with secondary and higher education were 2.02 times (AOR=2.02; 95%CI: 1.59 - 2.56) and 4.94 times (AOR=4.94; 95%CI: 3.61 - 6.76) as likely to attain CBE compared to women with no education. Women with health insurance were 85% (AOR=1.85; 95%CI: 1.37 - 2.52) more likely to attain CBE compared to women without health insurance. Similar results were found on the associations between wealth index, educational level and health insurance status and CCS uptake. CBE and CCS uptakes were significantly higher in women with higher wealth index, higher education, and health insurance highlighting potential disparities in access to and utilization of preventive services in Ghanaian women. Tailoring policies to address the poverty burden will likely lead to an increase in breast and cervical cancer screening uptakes and potentially better health outcomes.

Evaluation of screening mammography effectiveness: The IARC recommendations of 2015 need revision.

ABSTRACTBackground:Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among the women with high mortality in India. The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge of BC, understand the perceptions and practises of BC screening, to do a need assessment of the people in the community regarding BC screening and to identify the challenges faced by the community health workers in BC screening.Materials and Methods:A community-based mixed-method study was conducted at Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, from November 2023 to August 2024, and primary data were collected from 401 women aged 18–55 years. Structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The need assessment on breast cancer screening was conducted by focus group discussions (FGD). Key informant interviews were conducted to explore the challenges faced by field workers in BC screening.Results:The study found that 71.3% of the women were aware of breast cancer. The women who were aware of BC considered lump in breast (78.3%) as the most common symptom. More awareness programs, organising screening camps at the community level, affordable cost of screening tests were some of the needs addressed during the FGD. Lack of motivation among the women, ignorance due to absence of symptoms, shyness were some of the challenges faced by the community health workers.Conclusion:Knowledge of symptoms and screening practises of BC were low which necessitates the enhancement of knowledge on breast cancer among the rural women which in turn will lead to early diagnosis of BC.

Long-Term Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence for Breast Cancer Screening: A Modeling Study.

Breast Cancer Screening Using Clinical Breast Examination: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for South Africa.

This study aimed to investigate the existing knowledge, health beliefs, and practices related to breast cancer screening in a general population of Turkish women. A total of 1514 women (mean±SD age: 32.5±13.6 years) were included voluntarily in this questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire involved items on participant characteristics, knowledge on breast cancer, knowledge and practice on breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography, and the items on the Champion's Health Belief Model (CHBM). Overall, 23.8%, 32.7%, and 22.1% of women reported the monthly BSE practice, the previous CBE, and the previous mammography, respectively. On average, 72.8%, 74.0%, and 66.3% of participants responded correctly to the items related to risk factors, first symptoms, and early diagnosis of breast cancer, respectively. Overall, 38.0%, 52.7% and 44.0 % of participants had a good level of knowledge about the BSE, CBE, and mammography, respectively, while only 32.1% of women reported that they knew exactly how to perform BSE. The CHBM scores were moderate overall (median 159.0). Our findings in a group of Turkish women revealed insufficient knowledge about breast cancer and screening strategies and low rates of breast screening practice along with low scores on the perceived susceptibility and seriousness of breast cancer. There is a need for effective awareness campaigns and public health education and promotion interventions on breast cancer to improve the health-seeking behavior of women and thereby enable early reporting of symptoms and increase uptake of breast screening.

Efficient Ultrasound Breast Cancer Detection with DMFormer: A Dynamic Multiscale Fusion Transformer.

A unified circular-polarization metamaterial-inspired resonator for increasing SNR in breast MRI.

2341P Women wellness at the workplace: Receptiveness of women to free cervical and breast cancer screening in a government hospital in antique province