Inclusion of Evidence-Based Breast Cancer Control Recommendations and Guidelines in State Comprehensive Cancer Control Plans

INTRODUCTION: Each US state, territory, and tribe/tribal organization is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plan. The objective of this study was to inform areas for improvement of those plans. METHODS: To show how CCC plans can be improved, we used the example of breast cancer, which has a long public health history and an established, broad spectrum of prevention and control activities. We evaluated the inclusion of evidence-based breast cancer prevention topics as provided by guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in each state’s CCC plan. From January through March 2019, we downloaded CCC plans from each state and the District of Columbia and abstracted and quantified the content of plans for 1) discussion of data on breast cancer mortality, breast cancer incidence, uptake of mammography; 2) statement of objective to reduce the burden of breast cancer; and 3) review of CDC guidelines and USPSTF recommendations. RESULTS: The discussion of breast cancer–relevant topics and specification of objectives was incomplete. Of 51 plans, data on breast cancer mortality and incidence and uptake of mammography were reported in 53% (n = 27) to 76% (n = 39) of plans. CDC and USPSTF recommendations for breast cancer–specific interventions were discussed in only 6% (n = 3) to 37% (n = 19) of plans. Discussion of general cancer prevention topics relevant to breast cancer ranged from 10% (n = 5) to 61% (n = 31) of plans. CONCLUSION: Our findings inform areas for quality improvement of state CCC plans and may contribute to other areas of public health planning.