Race is not a factor in overall survival in patients with triple negative breast cancer: A retrospective review

Athena Starlard-Davenport, Katherine Glover-Collins, Issam Mahkoul, Laura Hutchins, Kent Westbrook, Soheila Korourian, Kimberly Enoch, Michael Preston, Shakia N. Jackson, V. Suzanne Klimberg, Ronda Henry-Tillman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if race is a factor on overall survival when stage at diagnosis is compared. In this study, a total of 93 women with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) were evaluated for survival outcomes after diagnosis between the year 2000 through 2010. Thirty-five patients (38%) were African American (AA), and 58 patients (62%) were Caucasian. Overall survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between groups using the log-rank test. Student's t-test was used to calculate differences in cancer recurrence and mortality rates by stage and race. Cox proportional hazards ratios were used to determine the association of patient and variables with clinical outcome. Of women diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, the overall survival rates for AAs was 100% compared to Caucasians at 94% (95% CI, 0.003 to 19; P = 0.5). For women with stage 2 breast cancer, overall survival for AA women was 85% and for Caucasian women was 86% (HR = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.3 to 2.6; P = 0.73). For advanced stages (stage 3 and 4), survival for AA women were 78% and 40% for Caucasian women (HR = 0.6; 95% CI 0.2 to 1.98; P = 0.43). Rates of recurrence and mortality were not significantly different between AA and Caucasian TNBC patients. After controlling for patient variables, race was not significantly associated with OS (HR = 1.24; 95% CI, 0.32 to 5.08; P = 0.74) when comparing AA to Caucasian patients. Our study suggests that race does not have an effect on overall survival in African American and Caucasian women diagnosed with TNBC in Arkansas.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number516
Pages (from-to)1-7
Number of pages7
JournalSpringerPlus
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Overall survival
  • Race
  • Triple negative breast cancer

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Race is not a factor in overall survival in patients with triple negative breast cancer: A retrospective review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this