title: Diagnosis and treatment pattern among rural and urban breast cancer patients in Southwest China from 2005 to 2009.
abstract: The incidence of all cancers in China is generally higher in urban areas; however, the mortality risk for affected patients is considerably higher in rural areas. We present a subanalysis investigating the differences in patient and disease characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes between rural and urban patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer at West China Hospital between 2005-2009. Baseline patient and disease characteristics were recorded, and patients were followed up for a minimum of 3 years, or until death. For this subanalysis, patients were stratified by their residential status (rural or urban). Of the 2252 patients in the cohort, 76.3% were from urban areas and 22.1% were from rural areas. Significant differences were observed in the prevalence of luminal A and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancers among rural and urban patients. Estrogen receptor (ER)-positive patients were less likely to receive anti-ER therapy if they were from rural areas compared with urban areas; the use of aromatase inhibitors was also significantly lower for rural patients than urban patients. Univariate, multivariate, and Kaplan-Meier analyses all demonstrated that overall survival and progression-free survival were significantly lower for rural patients than urban patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis of Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Zuxiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: AstraZeneca R&D Information China, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: AstraZeneca R&D Information China, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xuesong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis of Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis of Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Xiaorong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: AstraZeneca R&D Information China, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: AstraZeneca R&D Information China, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yunqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis of Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jing
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: breast cancer; epidemiology; real-world study; survival; treatment