Whatever happened to clinical breast examinations?

The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the use of clinical breast examinations (CBE), mammography, and both tests between the years 1990 and 2000.

Receipt of breast cancer screening tests (CBE, mammography, and both tests combined) for white, black, and Hispanic women in 1990, 1994, 1998, and 2000 were examined by sociodemographic, access, and health risk indicators using data from the National Health Interview Survey.

The use of mammography increased from 1990 to 2000, but the proportion of women reporting a recent CBE decreased for almost all groups of women. Differential use of CBE by sociodemographic characteristics is consistent with what has been documented for mammography.

Although the use of mammography has increased since 1990, there has been a downward trend in the use of CBE. Healthcare providers should be aware of the lower rates of CBE, particularly among women with compromised access to health care, and should not assume that women who get mammograms have received comprehensive screening for breast cancer.