Office of Medical Communications

Brian Sprague, Ph.D., M.S., professor of surgery

(APRIL 5, 2024) Brian Sprague, Ph.D., M.S., professor of surgery, was quoted in an article in Radiology Business about a historic low in mammography screening in Vermont.

The proportion of eligible Vermont women who underwent breast cancer screening in the previous two years fell from 61 percent in 2019 to 56 percent in 2021 post-pandemic. Screening adherence recovered to 61 percent by 2022 but remained “substantially lower” than peak levels seen from 2007 to 2010 (66–67 percent), researchers detailed in Radiology: Imaging Cancer.

“Despite a rebound in 2022 from pandemic-associated lows, mammography screening rates in Vermont are at a historic low, and efforts to increase screening utilization are particularly needed among specific sociodemographic groups,” Sprague and co-authors wrote.

“Our study, which extends to more than 2.5 years of follow-up since the onset of the pandemic, provides further evidence for racial and ethnic disparities in return to screening and additionally highlights differences according to educational attainment and breast cancer risk,” the authors noted. “Overall, our findings add to a growing literature suggesting that post-pandemic determinants of screening adherence are similar to those observed before the pandemic,” they added.

“The recently released USPSTF draft recommendation for routine screening beginning at the age of 40 years may offer an opportune moment to reinvigorate efforts to promote mammography screening adherence in the post-pandemic era,” Sprague et al. wrote.