Abstract
BackgroundBlack women living in southern states have the highest breast cancer mortality rate in the United States. The prognosis of de novo metastatic breast cancer is poor. Given these mortality rates, we are the first to link nationally representative data on breast cancer mortality hot spots (counties with high breast cancer mortality rates) with cancer mortality data in the United States and investigate the association of geographic breast cancer mortality hot spots with de novo metastatic breast cancer mortality among Black women.MethodsWe identified 7292 Black women diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER). The county-level characteristics were obtained from 2014 County Health Rankings and linked to SEER. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality between hot spot and non–hot spot counties.ResultsAmong 7292 patients, 393 (5.4%) resided in breast cancer mortality hot spots. Women residing in hot spots had similar risks of breast cancer–specific mortality (aHR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.15) and all-cause mortality (aHR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.84 to 1.11) as women in non–hot spots after adjusting for individual and tumor-level factors and treatments. Additional adjustment for county-level characteristics did not impact mortality.ConclusionLiving in a breast cancer mortality hot spot was not associated with de novo metastatic breast cancer mortality among Black women. Future research should begin to examine variation in both individual and population-level determinants, as well as in molecular and genetic determinants that underlie the aggressive nature of de novo metastatic breast cancer.
Highlights
Black women living in southern states have the highest breast cancer mortality rate in the United States
For women diagnosed with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)–defined stage I breast cancer, the expected 5-year breast cancer–specific survival rate is more than 96% [2]
Black women living in hot spot counties with de novo metastatic breast cancer diagnosis were statistically significantly more likely than women living in non–hot spot counties to reside in areas with greater proportions of White residents (59.3% vs 46.6%), a greater prevalence of adult obesity (33.5% vs 26.9%), a greater prevalence of smoking (20.8% vs 14.8%), more physical inactivity (32.0% vs 24.1%), and a greater proportion of rural residents (13.2% vs 1.1%)
Summary
The prognosis of de novo metastatic breast cancer is poor Given these mortality rates, we are the first to link nationally representative data on breast cancer mortality hot spots (counties with high breast cancer mortality rates) with cancer mortality data in the United States and investigate the association of geographic breast cancer mortality hot spots with de novo metastatic breast cancer mortality among Black women. Women residing in hot spots had similar risks of breast cancer–specific mortality (aHR 1⁄4 0.99, 95% CI 1⁄4 0.85 to 1.15) and all-cause mortality (aHR 1⁄4 0.97, 95% CI 1⁄4 0.84 to 1.11) as women in non–hot spots after adjusting for individual and tumor-level factors and treatments. Conclusion: Living in a breast cancer mortality hot spot was not associated with de novo metastatic breast cancer mortality among Black women. Future research should begin to examine variation in both individual and population-level determinants, as well as in molecular and genetic determinants that underlie the aggressive nature of de novo metastatic breast cancer
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