Determinants of Guideline-Discordant Breast Cancer Care

Evidence-based breast cancer treatment guidelines recommend the most appropriate course of therapy based on tumor characteristics and extent of disease. Evaluating the multilevel factors associated with guideline discordance is critical to identifying strategies to eliminate breast cancer survival disparities.

We identified females diagnosed with a first primary, stage I-III breast cancer between the ages of 20-69 years of age from the population-based Seattle-Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry. Participants completed a survey about social support, utilization of patient support services, hypothesized barriers to care, and initiation of breast cancer treatment. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Among 1,390 participants, 10% reported guideline-discordant care. In analyses adjusted for patient-level sociodemographic factors, individuals who did not have someone to go with them to appointments or drive them home (OR 1.96; 95% CI, 1.09-3.59) and those who had problems talking to their doctors or their staff (OR 2.03; 95% CI, 1.13-3.64) were more likely to be guideline discordant than those with social support or without such problems, respectively. Use of patient support services was associated with a 43% lower odds of guideline discordance (OR 0.57; 95% CI, 0.36-0.88).

Although guideline discordance in this cohort of early-stage breast cancer survivors diagnosed <70 years of age was low, instrumental social support, patient support services, and communication with doctors and their staff emerged as potential multilevel intervention targets for improving breast cancer care delivery.

This study supports extending the reach of interventions designed to improve guideline concordance.