The epidemiology of breast cancer in Maori women in Aotearoa New Zealand: implications for screening and treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the epidemiology of breast cancer in Maori and non-Maori women in New Zealand, and to identify the implications for breast cancer screening and treatment policy and practice.


METHODS
New Zealand Census Mortality Study (NZCMS)-adjusted age-specific incidence and mortality rates for breast cancer in total and sole Maori and non-Maori women were calculated using registration and mortality data obtained from New Zealand Health Information Service for 1996-2000.


RESULTS
Despite similar age-specific incidence rates of breast cancer in total Maori and non-Maori women under 50 years of age, total Maori women aged 25-59 years had higher age-specific mortality from breast cancer than non-Maori. A similar pattern is seen for sole Maori age-specific rates; however, the rates are even higher than total Maori rates.


CONCLUSIONS
Possible drivers of ethnic disparities in breast cancer mortality require investigation--particularly the role of access to breast cancer screening and treatment for Maori women compared to non-Maori. Specific initiatives are continually needed to ensure that Maori women are able to access breast cancer screening--otherwise ethnic inequalities in mortality will persist. The interaction between deprivation and ethnicity in breast cancer incidence and mortality analyses should be investigated in future analyses.
Curtis
Elana
E
Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA.
Wright
Craig
C
Wall
Madeleine
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D012306:Risk; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data