Disparities in breast cancer subtypes among women in the lower Mississippi Delta Region states.

PURPOSE: To describe and elucidate rates in breast cancer incidence by subtype in the federally designated Mississippi Delta Region, an impoverished region across eight Southern/Midwest states with a high proportion of Black residents and notable breast cancer mortality disparities. METHODS: Cancer registry data from seven LMDR states (Missouri was not included because of permission issues) were used to explore breast cancer incidence differences by subtype between the LMDR's Delta and non-Delta Regions and between White and Black women within the Delta Region (2012-2014). Overall and subtype-specific age-adjusted incidence rates and rate ratios were calculated. Multilevel negative binomial regression models were used to evaluate how individual-level and area-level factors, like race/ethnicity and poverty level, respectively, affect rates of breast cancers by subtype. RESULTS: Women in the Delta Region had higher rates of triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive subtype, than women in the non-Delta (17.0 vs. 14.4 per 100,000), but the elevated rate was attenuated to non-statistical significance in multivariable analysis. Urban Delta women also had higher rates of triple-negative breast cancer than non-Delta urban women, which remained in multivariable analysis. In the Delta Region, Black women had higher overall breast cancer rates than their White counterparts, which remained in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION: Higher rates of triple-negative breast cancer in the Delta Region may help explain the Region's mortality disparity. Further, an important area of future research is to determine what unaccounted for individual-level or social area-level factors contribute to the elevated breast cancer incidence rate among Black women in the Delta Region.

Breast cancer staging by subtype in the Lower Mississippi Delta region States.

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate disparities in breast cancer stage by subtype (categorizations of breast cancer based upon molecular characteristics) in the Delta Regional Authority (Delta), an impoverished region across eight Lower Mississippi Delta Region (LMDR) states with a high proportion of Black residents and high breast cancer mortality rates. METHODS: We used population-based cancer registry data from seven of the eight LMDR states to explore breast cancer staging (early and late) differences by subtype between the Delta and non-Delta in the LMDR and between White and Black women within the Delta. Age-adjusted incidence rates and rate ratios were calculated to examine regional and racial differences. Multilevel negative binomial regression models were constructed to evaluate how individual-level and area-level factors affect rates of early- and late-stage breast cancers by subtype. RESULTS: For all subtypes combined, there were no Delta/non-Delta differences in early and late stage breast cancers. Delta women had lower rates of hormone-receptor (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2-) and higher rates of HR-/HER2- (the most aggressive subtype) early and late stage cancers, respectively, but these elevated rates were attenuated in multilevel models. Within the Delta, Black women had higher rates of late-stage breast cancer than White women for most subtypes; elevated late-stage rates of all subtypes combined remained in Black women in multilevel analysis (RR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.04-1.15). CONCLUSIONS: Black women in the Delta had higher rates of late-stage cancers across subtypes. Culturally competent interventions targeting risk-appropriate screening modalities should be scaled up in the Delta to improve early detection.

Spatial Accessibility to Mammography Services in the Lower Mississippi Delta Region States.

PURPOSE: To characterize spatial access to mammography services across 8 Lower Mississippi Delta Region (LMDR) states. These states include the Delta Region, a federally designated, largely rural, and impoverished region with a high proportion of black residents and low mammography utilization rates. METHODS: Using the enhanced 2-step floating catchment area method, we calculated spatial accessibility scores for mammography services across LMDR census tracts. We compared accessibility scores between the Delta and non-Delta Regions of the LMDR. We also performed hotspot analysis and constructed spatial lag models to detect clusters of low spatial access and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with access, respectively. We obtained mammography facility locations data from the Food and Drug Administration and sociodemographic variables from the American Community Survey and the US Department of Agriculture. RESULTS: Overall, there were no differences in spatial accessibility scores between the Delta and non-Delta Regions, though there was some state-to-state variation. Clusters of low spatial access were found in parts of the Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee Delta. Spatial lag models found that poverty was associated with greater spatial access to mammography. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of identified differences in spatial access to mammography in the Delta and non-Delta Regions suggests that psychosocial or financial barriers play a larger role in lower mammography utilization rates. Identifying clusters of low spatial access to mammography services can help inform resource allocation. Further, our study underscores the value of using coverage-based methods rather than travel time or container measures to evaluate spatial access to care.

Use of local community hospital data for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.

We sought to determine whether antimicrobial susceptibility data from a nonteaching community hospital could be used to detect statistically significant local increases in resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae over a 5-year period. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of penicillin and ceftriaxone from 1997-1998 were compared with those from 2000-2001. MICs of penicillin and ceftriaxone for organisms collected in a nonteaching community hospital in central Illinois were used for analysis. The hospital has 224 beds and a catchment area of approximately 40 miles. There were significant increases in MICs of penicillin and ceftriaxone between 1997-1998 and 2000-2001. The MIC of penicillin increased from 0.042 to 0.121 microg/mL (P = .001; 95% confidence interval, -1.713 to -0.388), and the MIC of ceftriaxone increased from 0.028 to 0.071 microg/mL (P = .005; 95% confidence interval, -1.353 to -0.188). There were no significant changes in the percentage of S. pneumoniae isolates that were resistant, intermediate, or susceptible to penicillin and ceftriaxone. MIC data from a community hospital can be used to detect local increases in the rate of resistance before antibiogram data show significant changes. This information is important for demonstrating to physicians the need to review local antibiotic use in the attempt to slow the development of resistant organisms in the community.