Studies from Emory University Yield New Information about Breast Cancer (Assessment of Racial Disparity In Survival Outcomes for Early Hormone Receptor-positive Breast Cancer After Adjusting for Insurance Status and Neighborhood Deprivation a …): Oncology – Breast Cancer

2022 MAR 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Oncology - Breast Cancer. According to news originating from Atlanta, Georgia, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Importance Racial disparities in survival outcomes among Black women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer have been reported. However, the association between individual-level and neighborhood-level social determinants of health on such disparities has not been well studied.”

Financial supporters for this research include NIH National Cancer Institute (NCI), Canadian Cancer Society (CCS).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Emory University, “To evaluate the association between race and clinical outcomes (ie, relapse-free interval and overall survival) adjusting for individual insurance coverage and neighborhood deprivation index (NDI), measured using zip code of residence, in women with breast cancer. Setting, and Participants This was a post hoc analysis of 9719 women with breast cancer in the Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment, a randomized clinical trial conducted from April 7, 2006, to October 6, 2010. All participants received a diagnosis of hormone receptor-positive, ERBB2-negative, axillary node-negative breast cancer. The present data analysis was conducted from April 1 to October 22, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures A multivariate model was developed to evaluate the association between race and relapse-free interval and overall survival adjusting for insurance and NDI level at study entry, early discontinuation of endocrine therapy 4 years after initiation, and clinicopathologic characteristics of cancer. Median follow-up for clinical outcomes was 96 months. A total of 9719 women (4.2% [n = 405] Asian; 7.1% [n = 693] Black; 84.3% [n = 8189] White; 4.4% [n = 403] others/not specified) were included; 9.1% of included women [n = 889] were Hispanic or Latino. Median (SD) age was 56 (9.2) years. In multivariate models, Black race compared with White race was associated with statistically significant shorter relapse-free interval (hazard ratio [HR], 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05-1.84; P = .02) and overall survival (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.10-2.99; P = .009), adjusting for insurance and NDI level at study entry and other factors. Although uninsured status was not associated with clinical outcomes, patients with Medicare (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.01-1.68; P = .04) and Medicaid (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.01-2.05; P = .05) had shorter overall survival compared with those with private insurance. Participants living in neighborhoods in the highest NDI quartile experienced shorter overall survival compared with those in the lowest quartile (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.01-1.77; P = .04), regardless of self-identified race. Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this post hoc analysis of a randomized clinical trial suggest that Black women with breast cancer have significantly shorter relapse-free interval and overall survival compared with White women.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Early discontinuation of endocrine therapy, clinicopathologic characteristics, insurance coverage, and NDI do not fully explain the observed disparity.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Assessment of Racial Disparity In Survival Outcomes for Early Hormone Receptor-positive Breast Cancer After Adjusting for Insurance Status and Neighborhood Deprivation a Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncology, 2022. JAMA Oncology can be contacted at: Amer Medical Assoc, 330 N Wabash Ave, Ste 39300, Chicago, IL 60611-5885, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Gelareh Sadigh, Emory University, Dept. of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine, 1364 Clifton Rd Ste BG27, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States. Additional authors for this research include Robert J. Gray, Joseph A. Sparano, Betina Yanez, Sofia F. Garcia, David Cella, Lava R. Timsina, Samilia Obeng-Gyasi, Ilana Gareen, George W. Sledge, Timothy J. Whelan, Lynne Wagner and Ruth C. Carlos.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.7656. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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