Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Dec 3;101 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S40-8.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605389.

A randomised controlled trial of an intervention to promote early presentation of breast cancer in older women: effect on breast cancer awareness

L Linsell  1 , L J L Forbes, M Kapari, C Burgess, L Omar, L Tucker, A J Ramirez
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A randomised controlled trial of an intervention to promote early presentation of breast cancer in older women: effect on breast cancer awareness

L Linsell et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: There is virtually no evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to promote early presentation in breast cancer. We aimed to test the efficacy of an intervention to equip older women with the knowledge, skills, confidence and motivation to detect symptoms and seek help promptly, with the aim of promoting early presentation with breast cancer symptoms.

Methods: We randomised 867 women aged 67-70 years attending for their final routine appointment on the UK NHS Breast Screening Programme to receive: a scripted 10-min interaction with a radiographer plus a booklet, a booklet alone or usual care. The primary outcome was whether or not a woman was breast cancer aware based on knowledge of breast cancer symptoms and age-related risk, and reported breast checking.

Results: At 1 month, the intervention increased the proportion who were breast cancer aware compared with usual care (interaction arm: 32.8% vs 4.1%; odds ratio (OR): 24.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 7.7-73.7; booklet arm: 12.7% vs 4.1%; OR: 4.4, 95% CI: 1.6-12.0). At 1 year, the effects of the interaction plus booklet, and the booklet, on breast cancer awareness were largely sustained, although the interaction plus booklet remained much more effective.

Conclusions: An intervention to equip older women with the knowledge, skills, confidence and motivation to detect breast cancer symptoms and seek help promptly increases breast cancer awareness at 1 year. Future research will evaluate whether the intervention promotes early presentation and reduces breast cancer mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of participants through trial.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Breast cancer awareness and component items at baseline, 1 month and 1-year after randomisation. *A woman scored three points on the breast cancer awareness score if she: identified at least five non-lump symptoms (one point), identified that a 70-year-old woman is most at risk of breast cancer (one point) and reported checking her breasts at least once a month (one point).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proportions of women identifying symptoms of breast cancer at baseline, 1 month and 1-year after randomisation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adlard JW, Hume MJ (2003) Cancer knowledge of the general public in the United Kingdom: survey in a primary care setting and review of the literature. Clin Oncol 15: 174–180 - PubMed
    1. Armitage P, Berry G (1994) Statistical Methods in Medical Research. Blackwell: Oxford
    1. Arndt V (2002) Patient delay and stage of diagnosis among breast cancer patients in Germany – a population based study. Br J Cancer 86: 1034–1040 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Austoker J, Bankhead C, Forbes LJL, Atkins L, Martin F, Robb K, Wardle J, Ramirez AJ (2009) Interventions to promote cancer awareness and early presentation: systematic review. Br J Cancer 101(Suppl 2): S31–S39 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Banks E, Beral V, Cameron R, Hogg A, Langley N, Barnes I, Bull D, Reeves G, English R, Taylor S, Elliman J, Lole HC (2002) Comparison of various characteristics of women who do and do not attend for breast cancer screening. Breast Cancer Res 4: R1. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data