Women have to travel nearly three times as far for additional breast MRI or ultrasound scans as they do for mammograms, according to a study published August 12 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

A team led by Dr. Eric Christensen of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute in Reston, Virginia, found that women travel just over eight miles to mammography facilities, but between 22 and 23 miles to ultrasound and MRI facilities for additional imaging. This distance may contribute to disparities in breast cancer screening, the team stressed.

“However, these differences are economic. There is simply no financial justification for making MR facilities equally accessible to all women,” Christensen said. AuntMinnie.com“Fortunately, there are options for additional breast cancer screening when breast MRI is not available.”

Breast MRI is the preferred complementary imaging option for high-risk women, but one of the main weaknesses of this method is its lack of availability for many women. The researchers noted that spatial access differences may contribute to disparities in breast care.

Christensen and colleagues examined the relative distance to breast imaging facilities with MRI compared to facilities offering mammography or ultrasound. They used 2023 zip code data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR). The team also used linear regression to assess distance differences while controlling for Area Deprivation Index (ADI), urbanicity, and population size.

The final analysis included 29,639 zip codes with an ADI and known urbanity. Patients seeking an additional MRI scan must travel an average of 37.4 kilometers to a breast MRI facility, according to the results, while they must travel only 13.2 kilometers to a mammography center. In addition, patients must travel an average of 36.7 kilometers to a breast ultrasound center.

“The average distance to breast MRI facilities was 2.8 times farther than to mammography facilities,” the researchers wrote.

The team also found that ADI and urbanicity were associated with greater distance to the nearest breast imaging facility. The additional miles associated with the least advantaged areas compared to the most advantaged areas were 12.2 miles for MRI, 11.5 miles for ultrasound, and 2.4 miles for mammography.

Finally, the additional distance to breast MRI facilities in small/rural areas was 37.35 kilometers compared to metropolitan areas.

Christensen said these findings could lead to greater use of contrast mammography (CEM) in women who want additional imaging tests.

“By bringing CEM closer to women, we can mitigate the larger outcome gaps. This is a practical solution to a difficult problem,” he said. AuntMinnie.com“Of course, more frequent use of breast ultrasound would be helpful, but the results of the study show that this would have only a limited impact on bringing complementary breast cancer screening closer to patients, as it is similarly far away from patients as breast MRI.”

The team called for future studies to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of such mitigation efforts, as well as other options to address disparities in breast cancer screening.

“While we are not currently conducting a specific research study related to this study, we remain committed to understanding how economic inequalities arise and finding practical ways to bring about improvements for patients,” Christensen said.

You can find the entire study here.