Press Releases
ASCO Quality Care Symposium Abstract #50, Rapid Oral Abstract Session C
(MERIT AWARD)
(Associations of individual and partner incarceration history and receipt of cancer screening in the U.S.)
ATLANTA, September 23, 2024 — A new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) showed individual or partner incarceration history was associated with a lower prevalence of receiving cancer screening in the United States. The findings will be presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium in San Francisco, September 27 – 28, 2024.
In the study, led by Dr. Jingxuan Zhao, senior scientist, health services research at the American Cancer Society, researchers identified individuals aged 50 years and older currently living with a partner who responded to the 2014-2020 Health and Retirement Study. Incarceration history was defined by responses to the question ‘Have you ever been an inmate in a jail, prison, juvenile detention center, or other correctional facility?’ People were categorized into 3 groups: 1) without individual or partner incarceration history, 2) with individual incarceration history only, and 3) with partner incarceration history only. People with both individual and partner incarceration history were excluded due to a small sample size. They used multivariate logistic regression models to compare receipt of any breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings ≤2 years among screening-eligible people (defined by the U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce guidelines) with individual or partner incarceration history to people without incarceration history, stratifying by sex and controlling for key sociodemographic characteristics.
The results showed that 0.9% and 11.8% of females and males reported individual incarceration history, respectively; 11.1% and 1.0% reported partner incarceration history, respectively. Compared to females without individual or partner incarceration history, women with partner incarceration history were less likely to receive breast cancer screening (Prevalence Ratio (PR):0.7, 95CI: 0.5-0.9); women with individual incarceration history were less likely to receive colorectal cancer screening (PR: 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5-0.9). Compared to males without individual or partner incarceration history, men with partner incarceration history were less likely to receive colorectal cancer screening (PR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.4-0.7).
Researchers emphasized programs to improve access to care and cancer screening among both people with incarceration history and their partners are warranted.
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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a leading cancer-fighting organization with a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. For more than 110 years, we have been improving the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support. We are committed to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. To learn more, visit cancer.org or call our 24/7 helpline at 1-800-227-2345. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.