Breast Cancer Awareness and Screening Practices

Breast cancer remains the most common malignancy among women worldwide, with early detection greatly improving outcomes. Awareness encompasses knowledge of risk factors, warning signs and the range of screening modalities. Screening practices vary from self-administered approaches to imaging and professional examination. Cultural, socioeconomic and health-system factors shape uptake, with barriers including low literacy, fear and logistical constraints. Recent advances emphasise tailored communication strategies and the incorporation of multimedia tools to enhance understanding. Globally, screening guidelines endorse mammography for women over 40–50 years, while clinical breast examination and self-breast examination serve as adjuncts in resource-limited settings. The interplay between individual beliefs and health-system organisation underpins participation rates, highlighting the importance of culturally sensitive education, accessible services and insurance coverage. Novel interventions leverage digital platforms and community engagement to address disparities. Understanding the multifaceted determinants of screening behaviour is essential to inform policy and improve early-stage detection on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A 2024 cross-sectional study in northern Thailand investigated how sociodemographic factors influence beliefs and practices of self-breast examination, mammography and ultrasound screening among women aged 40–70 years. The authors used a modified health belief scale to assess perceived benefits, barriers and susceptibility. Findings revealed that the type of health insurance and income level significantly affected perceived obstacles to screening, with embarrassment, time constraints and anxiety cited as primary barriers. These insights underscore the need to tailor national screening programmes to address structural and psychological factors, targeting subgroups most at risk of under-utilisation.

Breast Cancer Awareness and Screening Practices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in breast cancer awareness and screening practices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Breast self-examination (BSE): A manual, self-palpation method by which individuals check their own breasts for lumps or changes.

Mammography: A low-dose X-ray imaging technique used for early detection of breast tumours.

Ultrasound: An imaging modality that employs high-frequency sound waves to visualise breast tissue, often used adjunctively with mammography.

Clinical breast examination (CBE): A physical examination of the breasts performed by a trained health professional.

Health Belief Model (HBM): A theoretical framework that analyses how personal beliefs about health conditions influence health-related behaviours.

References

1. Co-Creation of Breast Cancer Risk Communication Tools and an Assessment of Risk Factor Awareness: A Qualitative Study of Patients and the Public in India. Cancers (2023).
2. Association between sociodemographic factors and health beliefs related to breast cancer screening behavior among Northern Thai women: a hospital-based study. Scientific Reports (2024).
3. Factors associated with breast cancer screening awareness and practices of women in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Women's Health (2019).
4. Breast Cancer Screening in Saudi Arabia: Free but Almost No Takers. PLOS ONE (2015).