Are there inequities in reconstruction after mastectomy in breast cancer patients related to race or insurance status?

Abstract

e12615 Background: Patients with invasive or in-situ breast cancers may increasingly be offered bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction with a view towards achieving symmetry and risk reduction. We investigated whether this treatment option was offered equally based on race and insurance status. Methods: Rates of mastectomy and reconstruction were studied among 4703 patients diagnosed or treated at Ascension St John Hospital, Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital, and Ascension Providence Hospital between 2005 and 2015. Data collected included demographics, tumor characteristics, insurance (primary payer), first course of surgical treatment, vital status, and cause of death. Cases coded as contralateral mastectomy and reconstruction were considered as representative of “bilateral mastectomy” and reconstruction. Results: Insurance status could be definitively categorized as HMO/PPO, fee for service (FFS), Medicare, or Medicaid in 2375 breast cancer patients. Medicaid HMO was categorized as Medicaid and Medicare with or without supplemental insurance was categorized as Medicare. For simplicity, cases coded as uninsured, other, and NOS were not analyzed further. A total of 406 of 2375 (17.0%) were coded as contralateral mastectomy with reconstruction. Smaller numbers of Medicare cases had contralateral mastectomy and reconstruction (7.3%) compared to 23.3% for HMO/PPO, 26.3% for FFS, and 16% for Medicaid, presumably related to older age. Within each insurance category, similar proportions of Caucasian and African American women were treated with contralateral mastectomy (Table) compared to all patients (Table). Conclusions: Patients having Medicaid insurance had lower rates of contralateral mastectomy and reconstruction compared to HMO/PPO and FFS cases. African American race did not appear to be associated with lower rates of this surgery within the Ascension St John, Ascension Macomb Oakland, and Ascension Providence hospitals. [Table: see text]