The Military Health System: Minimizing Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Health Disparities

Background:

• The Military Health System (MHS) provides universal healthcare, theoretically minimizing disparities.
• This study investigated breast cancer treatment disparities within this insured population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify disparities in breast cancer treatment initiation within the MHS.
• To assess the impact of these disparities on timely treatment.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of female breast cancer patients (≥18 years) in the MHS (2014-2018).
• Defined incident breast cancer and calculated time from diagnosis to initial treatment.
• Used Poisson regression to analyze factors associated with timely treatment.

Main Results:

• Only 6% of 30,761 patients experienced prolonged treatment initiation.
• Treatment times significantly decreased from 2014 to 2018.
• Older patients (70-79) and those of higher military rank/dependents received timely treatment more often.

Conclusions:

• Significant improvements in timely breast cancer treatment initiation were observed in the MHS.
• Despite improvements, demographic and socioeconomic disparities affecting timely therapy initiation were identified.