This study evaluated the relationship between demographic, treatment, and socioeconomic factors and breast cancer survival among women in southeast Michigan.
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From Wiley Online Library
Racial differences in breast cancer survival
the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:
Racial differences in breast cancer survival can be explained by clinical and socioeconomic factors, according to a new study published online ahead of print in the journal Cancer.For the study, researchers assessed the relationship between demographic, socioeconomic, and treatment factors and breast cancer survival among women in southeast Michigan. Researchers analyzed data from 2,387 women with stage I to III breast cancer who were treated at the Henry Ford Health System between 1996 and 2005. Of those, 34% were African American.
Results showed that African American women were significantly more likely to have larger, hormone receptor-negative tumors and more comorbidities, and were more likely to reside in an economically deprived area compared with their white counterparts.
Researchers found that African Americans had a significantly higher risk for mortality in an unadjusted analysis; however, after adjusting for clinical factors, race was not significantly associated with survival.
The findings suggest that although there are racial differences in breast cancer survival due to clinical and socioeconomic factors, clinical factors specific to African Americans also play a role.
