Breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening prevalence in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands

Breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening are recommended and can reduce mortality from these cancers, yet information on screening prevalence in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) is limited.

We analyzed data from population-based cross-sectional surveys undertaken at different time points from 2016 to 2019 in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia states of Pohnpei and Kosrae. We estimated the age-standardized percentage of never screened and up-to-date screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer among eligible adults by select sociodemographic and health characteristics.

In the USAPI overall, 20.6 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 18.6, 22.8) of participants were up-to-date with breast cancer screening, 38.6 % (95 % CI: 37.1, 40.2) with cervical cancer screening, and 15.1 % (95 % CI: 13.8, 16.4) with colorectal cancer screening. Screening in the USAPI overall was lower for all three cancers among participants who reported having a high school education or less compared to those with more than a high school education. Cervical cancer screening was lower among participants with diabetes compared to those without diabetes, and colorectal cancer screening was lower among participants who reported tobacco use than among those without tobacco use.

Cancer screening was suboptimal across all three cancer types in the USAPI. Developing, implementing, or expanding culturally tailored and effective cancer screening strategies may address barriers to screening and improve access and utilization.