BACKGROUND: Recognition of potential explanations for nonadherence or treatment delays is crucial to improving survival, particularly among African American women, for whom there is limited research assessing patient factors that influence adherence to breast cancer chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the association of patient factors such as age, income, employment, and partner status with adherence (full dose/on time) to prescribed breast cancer adjuvant chemotherapy and delays in treatment among African American women. METHODS: This observational, prospective study used baseline data from the Adherence, Communication, Treatment, and Support Intervention Study that included African American women with early stage breast cancer who were recommended to receive chemotherapy. Eleven baseline demographic variables measured by a sociodemographic questionnaire were analyzed against the outcome variables of 85% adherence to chemotherapy, dichotomized as yes or no, and chemotherapy treatment delays measured as number of days. RESULTS: For the 121 African American women included in this study, only employment status and number of comorbidities were significant predictors for total treatment delays (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 2.175 [p = .000]; IRR = 1.234 [p = .003]) in the adjusted models. IMPLICATIONS: Employment status and number of comorbidities are predictors of the ability to receive timely breast cancer chemotherapy among African American women. This knowledge allows identification of patients in need of tailored supportive care to encourage adherence and prevent treatment delays.
BACKGROUND: Recognition of potential explanations for nonadherence or treatment delays is crucial to improving survival, particularly among African American women, for whom there is limited research assessing patient factors that influence adherence to breast cancer chemotherapy. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the association of patient factors such as age, income, employment, and partner status with adherence (full dose/on time) to prescribed breast cancer adjuvant chemotherapy and delays in treatment among African American women. METHODS: This observational, prospective study used baseline data from the Adherence, Communication, Treatment, and Support Intervention Study that included African American women with early stage breast cancer who were recommended to receive chemotherapy. Eleven baseline demographic variables measured by a sociodemographic questionnaire were analyzed against the outcome variables of 85% adherence to chemotherapy, dichotomized as yes or no, and chemotherapy treatment delays measured as number of days. RESULTS: For the 121 African American women included in this study, only employment status and number of comorbidities were significant predictors for total treatment delays (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 2.175 [p = .000]; IRR = 1.234 [p = .003]) in the adjusted models. IMPLICATIONS: Employment status and number of comorbidities are predictors of the ability to receive timely breast cancer chemotherapy among African American women. This knowledge allows identification of patients in need of tailored supportive care to encourage adherence and prevent treatment delays.
Authors: Marc A Emerson; Yvonne M Golightly; Allison E Aiello; Katherine E Reeder-Hayes; Xianming Tan; Ugwuji Maduekwe; Marian Johnson-Thompson; Andrew F Olshan; Melissa A Troester Journal: Cancer Date: 2020-09-21 Impact factor: 6.860
Authors: Maura K McCall; Mary Connolly; Bethany Nugent; Yvette P Conley; Catherine M Bender; Margaret Q Rosenzweig Journal: J Cancer Educ Date: 2020-06 Impact factor: 2.037
Authors: Megan E V Caram; Mary K Oerline; Stacie Dusetzina; Lindsey A Herrel; Parth K Modi; Samuel R Kaufman; Ted A Skolarus; Brent K Hollenbeck; Vahakn Shahinian Journal: Cancer Date: 2020-09-14 Impact factor: 6.860
Authors: Matthew Schlumbrecht; Danielle Cerbon; Melissa Castillo; Scott Jordan; Raleigh Butler; Andre Pinto; Sophia George Journal: Front Oncol Date: 2020-05-29 Impact factor: 6.244
Authors: Safaa Turkistani; Bruna M Sugita; Paolo Fadda; Rafael Marchi; Ali Afsari; Tammey Naab; Victor Apprey; Robert L Copeland; Michael C Campbell; Luciane R Cavalli; Yasmine Kanaan Journal: BMC Cancer Date: 2021-07-27 Impact factor: 4.430