WHEP Scholar Tara Lamb
Drexel University College of Medicine, Class of 2024
Breast cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer; it has hundreds of thousands of new cases each year. The overall mortality rate due to breast cancer has decreased over the years. However, the mortality rate remains higher in Black women. Black women when compared to white women are often not provided or given the same recommendations of treatment options and are less likely to undergo reconstruction post-mastectomy.
The aim of my study was to analyze differences in postoperative outcomes between racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status of patients using the 2019 National Cancer Database Participant User Files. We found significantly higher odds of Black patients having mortality within 90 days and length of stay greater than 1 day when compared to white patients. Patients in the third and fourth median income quartile had significantly lower odds when compared to the first median income quartile patients of being readmitted within 30 days.
Literature has shown trends that racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities do exist in most aspects of health; however, it is important that there are evidence-based studies done to show these differences. It is also extremely important to realize where and why these disparities exist. Using the data, we can advocate for change and put interventions in place to narrow the health disparity gap overall. Education and training should be in place across facilities and institutions to ensure breast cancer treatment discussions are comparable between race, ethnicity and socioeconomic groups. Trending the disproportions amongst groups in the years to come will be imperative to determine if implementation of systematic programming narrows the disparity gap between groups. It is crucial to recognize different factors can influence cancer disparities. Addressing them is not always simple or straightforward, but reducing or eliminating some breast cancer disparities in the pursuit of health equity will require policy changes to overcome systemic social, racial and/or institutional inequalities.