Early-stage breast cancer treatment disparities in the Midsouth: Has anything changed?

We sought to determine if racial disparities in treatment and survival persist among patients with breast cancer in the Midsouth.

Patients with early-stage breast cancer were identified in the tumor registry of a large healthcare system in the Midsouth. Regression analyses were performed to determine how race was associated with receipt of treatment and mortality.

Among 4605 patients, 38.8% were Black. Black patients were less likely to undergo surgery (OR = 0.71; 95%CI 0.53-0.97) and receive hormone therapy (OR = 0.81; 95%CI 0.69-0.95) than White patients, but more likely to receive radiation (OR = 1.20; 95%CI 1.08-1.40) and chemotherapy (OR = 1.36; 95%CI 1.16-1.61). Among Black patients, the risk of mortality was lower among those who underwent partial (OR = 0.25; 95%CI 0.12-0.51) or total (OR = 0.35; 95%CI 0.16-0.76) mastectomy and among those who received hormone therapy (OR = 0.62; 95%CI 0.40-0.97).

There remains room for improvement in providing treatments that optimize survival among this patient population.