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Health-related quality of life in Black breast cancer survivors with and without triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)

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Abstract

Purpose

Black women are more likely to develop early-onset (≤50 years) breast cancer (BC) and have the lowest five-year, cause-specific survival rate of any United States (U.S.) racial or ethnic group. These disparities can be attributed partially to the higher rate of triple-negative BC (TNBC) in Blacks. Yet, little is known about health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Black women with TNBC.

Methods

Black women with invasive BC ≤ 50 years were recruited via the Florida Cancer Data System as part of a population-based case-only study of etiology and outcomes of early-onset invasive BC. Of 460 consented participants, a subset of 355 self-reported sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables. Descriptive analyses included participants with known TNBC (n = 85) or non-TNBC (n = 245) disease. Univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted to examine differences in factors associated with HRQOL.

Results

In unadjusted analyses, TNBC participants had significantly lower FACT-B total scores (90.1 ± 27.9) compared to non-TNBC (98.5 ± 27.6) participants (p < 0.05). For the TNBC group, multivariable analyses indicated five individual-level, and three systemic-level factors explain 80% of the response variation in HRQOL. For the non-TNBC group, seven individual-level factors and three systemic-level factors account for 76% of the variation in HRQOL scores.

Conclusions

Compared to Black women with non-TNBC, TNBC women have worse HRQOL. There are key individual and systemic-level factors that are unique to both groups. Findings can inform future HRQOL interventions to support young Black BC survivors.

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Funding

This research was supported by the American Cancer Society (RSG-11-268-01-CPPB) and the Florida Biomedical Research Program (IBG10-34199). This work has been supported in part by the Survey Methods Core Facility and Biostatistics Core Facility at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute; A National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (P30-CA076292). MLK is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (R25- CA090314) and the Center for Research in Infection and Cancer (K05-CA181320).

Author Contributions

Drs. Vadaparampil and Pal had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Study concept and design: Donovan, Holt, Ashing, Pal. Collection and assembly of data: Christie, Augusto, Pal. Data analysis and interpretation: Vadaparampil, Christie, Donovan, Kim, Kasting, Halbert, Pal. Manuscript writing: Vadaparampil, Christie, Donovan, Kim, Augusto, Kasting, Holt, Ashing, Halbert, Pal. Final approval of manuscript: Vadaparampil, Christie, Donovan, Kim, Augusto, Kasting, Holt, Ashing, Halbert, Pal. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved: Vadaparampil, Christie, Donovan, Kim, Augusto, Kasting, Holt, Ashing, Halbert, Pal.

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Correspondence to Susan T. Vadaparampil.

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Conflict of interest

STV has received research funding from Myriad Genetics Laboratory. JC, KAD, JK, BA, MLK, CLH, KA, CHH, and TP have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of from the University of South Florida and the Florida Department of Health Institutional Review Boards.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Vadaparampil, S.T., Christie, J., Donovan, K.A. et al. Health-related quality of life in Black breast cancer survivors with and without triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Breast Cancer Res Treat 163, 331–342 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-017-4173-0

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