Lower breast, cervical cancer screening seen for adults with disabilities

15 Sep 2026, 12:20 · Medical Xpress

by Elana Gotkine

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Sadie Harley

Scientific Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process

Andrew Zinin

Chief Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

reputable news agency

proofread

The GIST Add as preferred source

Individuals with disabilities have a lower prevalence of breast and cervical cancer screening, according to a study published in Cancer.

Natalia Mazzitelli, M.P.H., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues pooled data from the 2021 and 2023 National Health Interview Surveys to estimate the prevalence of self-reported breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening according to disability domains and difficulty levels.

Overall, 1,712, 1,147 and 3,106 sample respondents eligible for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening had disabilities, respectively; when population-weighted, this translated to 6.02 million, 5.10 million and 11.17 million, respectively.

The researchers found that the prevalence of breast and cervical cancer screening decreased with increasing difficulty levels in the self-care, vision, mobility and cognition domains. The lowest receipt was seen among those reporting "substantial" versus "none" self-care difficulties (adjusted prevalence ratios of 0.69 and 0.63 for breast and cervical cancer screening, respectively).

Lower cervical cancer screening, but not other screening, was associated with communication disability (adjusted prevalence ratio of 0.65 for "substantial" versus "none"). Higher stool testing for colorectal cancer was seen among adults with "substantial" mobility difficulties (adjusted prevalence ratio of 1.24 versus "none") and "some" self-care, mobility and vision difficulties compared with "none."

"We have to break down the barriers stopping individuals with disabilities from getting cancer screening," senior author Priti Bandi, Ph.D., also from the American Cancer Society, said in a statement. "At-home options like stool testing show enormous potential to bridge this gap, and we need to actively explore expanded self-sampling tools."

Publication details

Natalia Mazzitelli et al, Prevalence of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening among adults according to disability type and difficulty level, United States, 2021 and 2023, Cancer (2026). DOI: 10.1002/cncr.70557

Journal information: Cancer

Clinical categories

OncologyWomen's healthPreventive medicineCommon illnesses & PreventionFamily medicine Who's behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Lower breast, cervical cancer screening seen for adults with disabilities (2026, September 15) retrieved 15 September 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-breast-cervical-cancer-screening-adults.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.