Black/White Disparities in Receipt of Treatment and Survival Among Men With Early-Stage Breast Cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the extent of black/white disparities in receipt of treatment and survival for early-stage breast cancer in men age 18 to 64 and ≥ 65 years.


METHODS
We identified 725 non-Hispanic black (black) and 5,247 non-Hispanic white (white) men diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer from 2004 to 2011 in the National Cancer Data Base. We used multivariable logistic regression and calculated standardized risk ratios to predict receipt of treatment and a proportional hazards model to estimate overall hazard ratios (HRs) in black versus white men age 18 to 64 and ≥ 65 years, separately.


RESULTS
Receipt of treatment was remarkably similar between blacks and whites in both age groups. Black and white older men had lower receipt of chemotherapy (39.2% and 42.0%, respectively) compared with younger patients (76.7% and 79.3%, respectively). Younger black men had a 76% higher risk of death than younger white men after adjustment for clinical factors only (HR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.78), but this difference significantly diminished after subsequent adjustment for insurance and income (HR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.83 to 2.24). In those age ≥ 65 years, the excess risk of death in blacks versus whites was nonsignificant and not affected by adjustment for covariates.


CONCLUSIONS
The excess risk of death in black versus white men diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer was largely confined to those age 18 to 64 years and became nonsignificant after adjustment for differences in insurance and income. These findings suggest the importance of improving access to care in reducing racial disparities in male breast cancer mortality.
Helmneh M. Sineshaw, Elizabeth M. Ward, W. Dana Flanders, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; W. Dana Flanders, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and Rachel A. Freedman, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA. helmneh.sineshaw@cancer.org.
Helmneh M
HM
Sineshaw
Helmneh M. Sineshaw, Elizabeth M. Ward, W. Dana Flanders, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; W. Dana Flanders, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and Rachel A. Freedman, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.
Rachel A
RA
Freedman
Helmneh M. Sineshaw, Elizabeth M. Ward, W. Dana Flanders, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; W. Dana Flanders, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and Rachel A. Freedman, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.
Elizabeth M
EM
Ward
Helmneh M. Sineshaw, Elizabeth M. Ward, W. Dana Flanders, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; W. Dana Flanders, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and Rachel A. Freedman, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.
W Dana
WD
Flanders
Helmneh M. Sineshaw, Elizabeth M. Ward, W. Dana Flanders, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; W. Dana Flanders, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and Rachel A. Freedman, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.
Ahmedin
A
Jemal
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012042:Registries; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*