Introduction
At West Cancer Center and Research Institute (WCCRI), breast cancer (BC) patients 57% Black and 44% White) presented to the clinic with de novo metastatic (DNM) disease from 2018–2021. The objective was to evaluate why Black women with DNM disease delay seeking care at symptom onset.
Design
We conducted a retrospective analysis to determine the factors that impacted the decision to delay treatment for BC symptoms, defined as the time from the first symptom to diagnosis. We compared treatment delay in Black and White women with DNM disease. Chi-square test and t-tests were used to evaluate the data. We also compared socio-demographic data (i.e., age, race, zip code, insurance coverage, marital status, education level, residential arrangements, employment status, time from onset of symptoms until diagnosis, type of BC, and pathology type).
Results
One hundred sixty-nine female patients presented with DNM disease from 2018–2021. Women with a DNM diagnosis were (n=94, Black) and (n = 75, White). Black women were younger than White women (59.9 vs. 65.8 years, respectively, p <.01). Although the average time to seek treatment by Black patients was 4 weeks longer, it was not statistically significant (p = .245). In patients with less than high school education, Black women had worse survival outcomes than White women (p = .014).
Conclusion
Disparities in DNM survival outcomes among Black women in the U.S. Mid-South suggest more research is needed to understand perspectives of healthcare stakeholders (e.g., clinicians, caregivers) and sociocultural factors that influence healthcare engagement. These findings are being used to develop of a larger study to examine risk factors driving Black-White disparities in healthcare-seeking behaviors among adult women in the region.