Use of a geographic information system to identify and characterize areas with high proportions of distant stage breast cancer.

A spatial scan statistic was used to search for geographic areas with significantly elevated proportions of women diagnosed with distant stage breast cancer in New Jersey in 1995-1997. The identified areas then were mapped and characterized using data from the 1990 U.S. Census and locations of mammography facilities. These areas' population characteristics included relatively high proportions of black or Hispanic women and linguistically isolated households. Targeted education and screening programs using this information may increase the diagnosis of breast cancer in the early stages, thereby reducing breast cancer mortality.