Breast cancer surveillance in women with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant neoplasm observed among women. For the subgroup of women with learning/intellectual disability, it is unclear whether their risk for breast cancer is as high as it is for the general population. Objective: Evaluation of breast cancer frequency and breast cancer screening in women with learning disability, focusing on Down syndrome. Method: Review of the literature. Results: The rather scant literature on the topic suggests women with learning disability may have the same or lower risk of breast cancer. The subgroup of women with Down syndrome has a lower risk of breast cancer. The absence of adequate, good-quality epidemiological data on this topi..