title: Racial Differences in the Use and Outcome of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: Results From the National Cancer Data Base.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore racial differences in the use and outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Cancer Data Base was queried to identify women with stage 1 to 3 breast cancer diagnosed in 2010 and 2011. Chemotherapy use and rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) was determined for various racial/ethnic groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 278,815 patients with known race and ethnicity, 127,417 (46%) received chemotherapy, and of 121,446 where the timing of chemotherapy was known, 27,300 (23%) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy in particular, was given more frequently to black, Hispanic, and Asian women than to white women (P < 0.001). This difference was largely explained by more advanced stage, higher grade tumors, and a greater proportion of triple-negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive tumors in these women. Of 17,970 patients with known outcome, 5,944 (33%) had a pCR. No differences in response rate for estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR)-positive tumors were found, but compared with white women, black but not Hispanic or Asian women had a lower rate of pCR for ER/PR-negative, HER2-positive (43% v 54%, P = 0.001) and triple-negative tumors (37% v 43%, P < 0.001). This difference persisted when adjusted for age, clinical T stage, clinical N stage, histology, grade, comorbidity index, facility type, geographic region, insurance status, and census-derived median income and education for the patient's zip code (odds ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.77 to 0.93).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is given more frequently to black, Hispanic, and Asian women than to white women. Black women have a lower likelihood of pCR for triple-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer. Whether this is due to biologic differences in chemosensitivity or to treatment or socioeconomic differences that could not be adjusted for is unknown.
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT. brigid.killelea@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Brigid K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Killelea
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Vicky Q
authors.initials: VQ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Shi-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Brandon
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hayse
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mougalian
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Nina R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Anees B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Chagpar
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Lajos
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pusztai
authors.affiliation: Brigid K. Killelea, Brandon Hayse, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale University School of Medicine; Brigid K. Killelea, Sarah Mougalian, Nina R. Horowitz, Anees B. Chagpar, Lajos Pusztai, and Donald R. Lannin, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Vicky Q. Yang and Shi-Yi Wang, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lannin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015897:Comorbidity; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000032:analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human