Disparities in timely treatment among young women with breast cancer

Although evidence suggests worse breast cancer-specific survival associated with treatment delay beyond 90 days, little is known regarding the sociodemographic predictors of delays in cancer-directed surgery among young women with breast cancer. This is particularly notable, given that 5-10% of new diagnoses occur in younger women aged <40 years, commonly with more aggressive features than in older women.

We used the National Cancer Database (2004-2017) to assess sociodemographic disparities in delay of upfront surgery beyond 90 days among young women with non-metastatic breast cancer, using multivariable logistic regression and predictive marginal modeling.

Black women experienced treatment delays more frequently than white women (aOR: 1.93 [95% CI: 1.76-2.11], p < 0.001). Adjusted rates of treatment delay were 4.91% [95% CI: 4.51%-5.30%] and 2.60% [95% CI: 2.47%-2.74%] for Black and white women, respectively, and 2.97% [95% CI: 2.83%-3.12%], 2.36% [95% CI: 2.03%-2.68%], and 1.18% [95% CI: 0.54%-1.81%] for women from metro, urban, and rural areas, respectively.

These results suggest that improving access to timely treatment may be leveraged as a means through which to lessen the breast cancer disparities experienced by Black women.