Compliance and outcomes: do African Americans with advanced breast cancer fare worse?

Among women with advanced breast cancer, African Americans are thought to have a higher mortality rate than Caucasian. A number of factors, including intrinsic tumor biology, have been postulated for this survival difference. If similar treatment were offered, and actually completed, is there a survival difference? The objectives of this study were to determine 1) if the treatment regimens offered to African Americans and Caucasian were the same, 2) when treatment was offered, was compliance a factor, and 3) if the patients were compliant, was the outcome different? A retrospective review of 72 charts of patients with advanced stage breast cancer from 1988-present at our institution and an affiliated hospital was performed. Data collected include 1) stage of disease at diagnosis, 2) treatment offered, 3) compliance, and 4) outcome (disease-free survival and overall survival). African Americans were defined as those patients who described themselves as African American on their hospital face sheets. The treatment regimens offered were the same for both populations. There was not a significant difference in compliance between the African-American and the Caucasian women. There was no significant difference in disease-free survival or overall survival between the African-American and the Caucasian groups.