The New Jersey State Cancer Registry (NJSCR) devised a study to identify, map, and characterize areas of New Jersey with significantly high proportions of advanced-stage breast cancer using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis and SaTScan (a statistical tool). Two areas in northeastern New Jersey were identified by this method as having unusually high proportions of late-stage breast cancer. Census data provided demographic information that allowed the populations in these two areas to be compared with the rest of the state. Analysis showed that the populations in these two areas were more likely to be black, Hispanic, and foreign-born and to speak a language other than English in the home. Over 90% of the women diagnosed with breast cancer, however, lived within 2 miles of a mammography screening center.

The goal of this program is to encourage early detection of breast cancer among diverse populations in New Jersey. When breast cancer is diagnosed at a local stage, 97% of women still are alive 5 years later. The 5-year survival rate decreases to 21% when the disease is diagnosed after it has spread to other sites.

Study results were shared with the New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program, which offers cancer screening services to underserved populations. Additional screening resources that were funded by CDC and the state have been directed to these areas. Particular initiatives include providing culturally sensitive screening information in a variety of languages such as Spanish, Polish, and Arabic.