Breast Cancer Burden and Racial Disparities in Georgia by Age and Geographic Region

Breast cancer is the leading incident cancer among women in Georgia with dramatic demographic, temporal and geographic differentials that are clues for research and prevention. This study examines the burden of breast cancer incidence and mortality in Georgia and disparities for European Americans (EA) and African Americans (AA) as related to age, time period and geographic region, defined by state health district. The 1998-2005 Georgia Cancer Registry data and Vital Statistics records were used to generate age-adjusted rates per 100,000 for pre-menopausal women (age 45 and under) and post-menopausal women (age 45+). Incidence was higher among EA compared to AA women (153 vs 135, respectively), but EA postmenopausal women had higher incidence (EA 380 vs AA 312 among ) and premenopausal women had similar incidence (EA 83 vs AA 86). Incidence has been stable over time except for an increasing trend for AA premenopausal women from 2001-2005. There were consistent disparities by race for mortality with higher rates for AA women, especially for premenopausal women (EA 8.3 vs AA 15.3). The rates for postmenopausal women were EA 62.3 vs AA 76.4. Dramatic geographic variability in incidence and mortality was observed by health region that differed by race. Incidence rates for both EA and AA women were higher for premenopausal women in rural regions and for EA postmenopausal women in the metro Atlanta area. Mortality rates for both AA and EA women were higher for several rural regions for both pre- and postmenopausal women. Ecological and spatio-temporal studies are underway.