Abstract 5866: Racial ethnic variations in trajectory of health-related quality of life in older women with breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the research study was to explore the ethnic/racial variations in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores, and the trajectory of comorbidities in older women with breast cancer. This study analyzed data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results (SEER) – Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (MHOS) linked data resource. The study population consists of 982 women (≥ 65 years old at diagnosis) with primary breast cancer who were diagnosed in 1998-2012 and completed the MHOS survey within 24 months before diagnosis and completed at least one more survey after diagnosis. The study population was grouped into three ethnic/racial groups: Whites (n=791), Black/African American (n=104) and Hispanics (n=87). The mean age of the population was 74.8 ± 6.1. HRQoL was measured using SF-36/VR-12 questionnaire and summarized as Physical Component Summary (PCS) Score and a Mental Component Summary (MCS) Score. Results showed an increase in the PCS score at month 6 after diagnosis, and a decrease at month 12 was observed in Whites and Black/African Americans. A continuous decrease in the PCS score till month 12 and an increase at month 24 was observed in Hispanics. All three groups showed similar trends in MCS scores over time - the MCS score dropped at month 6 but was back at baseline by month 12. The Whites had the highest MCS score out of the three, and Hispanics had the lowest. The MCS score for Hispanics decreased by month 36, whereas it increased for Black/African Americans. The MCS score for Whites remained fairly the same. The results also showed an increase in the total number of comorbidities at month six after diagnosis, along with a decrease to the baseline comorbidities by month 12. Hispanics had the highest increase in comorbidities at month 6 and Whites had the lowest and most stable. The number of comorbidities remained fairly the same in Whites and Black/African Americans, whereas the number of comorbidities increased slightly at month 24 for Hispanics and drastically increased at month 36. Overall, changes in the total number of comorbidities had a negative correlation with the changes in MCS scores, therefore it can be concluded that the number of comorbidities have a negative effect on a patient’s mental health. Whites were observed to have less comorbidities and better MCS scores than Black/African Americans or Hispanics. The information gained from this study will help clinicians and patients in the shared treatment decision process and guide individualized survivorship care plans among older women with breast cancer. Citation Format: Sushantti Rupesh, Eunkyung Lee. Racial ethnic variations in trajectory of health-related quality of life in older women with breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5866.