Racial/ethnic differences in early detection of breast cancer: a study of 250,985 cases from the California Cancer Registry.

Aims: This study analyzed early breast cancer detection rates as a surrogate for breast cancer mortality rates. Stage at diagnosis was broken down by race/ethnicity and year of diagnosis for the cases of female breast cancer in the California Cancer Registry from 1988 to 2002.

Methods: A quarter million cases of breast cancer in women > or =50 years of age recorded in the California Cancer Registry over the period 1988-2002 were classified as early (in situ and localized stages) or late (regional and distant stages).