Socioeconomic disparity in breast cancer detection in Hong Kong--a high income city: retrospective epidemiological study using the Breast Cancer Registry.

Background: It is not known whether socioeconomic disparities affect the detection of breast cancer in Asian countries where the incidence of breast cancer is a rising trend. In this study, we explore the socioeconomic profiles of women and the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis in breast cancer patients aged 40 or over in Hong Kong.

Method: During the period 2008 to 2011, 5393 breast cancer patients registered with the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Registry.