A mobile mammography unit is helping to bust socioeconomic barriers to breast imaging in New York City, according to an analysis of the program published Thursday.
There is a particular need for such screenings among women in the Big Apple, with high case counts and death rates compared to other cancers. Project Renewal’s ScanVan is working to address this issue, providing clinical breast exams, mammograms and health education to low-income women.
Partnering with Weill Cornell Medicine and other area providers, the vehicle visited nearly 300 locations in 2019, covering all five boroughs. Analyzing the results for a review in Clinical Imaging, experts saw promising signs: 66% of those who used the ScanVan were Black or Latina. About 43% were uninsured, and while 23% used Medicaid.
“Barriers to breast cancer screening include lack of medical insurance, limited access to care, and the absence of a primary care physician,” Melissa Reichman, MD, a diagnostic radiologist with Weill Cornell, wrote March 18. “The mobile mammography screening van successfully overcame such barriers, providing uninsured women from racial minority groups with vital breast cancer screening and follow up care.”
For the analysis, Reichman and co-author Ava Tsapatsaris looked to de-identified data from Project Renewal, an NYC nonprofit working to address poverty. Screening mammograms in the retrospective study were performed aboard the ScanVan and read by a board-certified rad. Investigators additionally reviewed electronic health records to pinpoint Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System categories, insurance status, race and age.
Out of 3,745 individuals who used the ScanVan during the study period, 1,473 were Hispanic (39%) while 1,026 (27%) were African American. The balance was 20% Caucasian and 12% Asian. Seventeen of those screened during 2019 were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, with a corresponding rate of 4.5 per 1,000 individuals imaged. They also recorded 256 recalls for a rate of 7% with about 11.7% lost to follow up, the authors noted.
“In 2019, Project ScanVan met national performance benchmarks for screening mammography while serving uninsured women from racial minorities in NYC, thus decreasing barriers to breast cancer screening,” the authors concluded. “A logical step for future research would be to examine the utility of mobile mammography units in other cities and states across the country and beyond to improve access of all women to vital lifesaving screening.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.