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Lack of racial differences in clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a single academic center study

  • Epidemiology
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Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To examine the association between race and clinical outcomes (pathological complete response [pCR]; recurrence-free survival [RFS], and overall survival [OS]) in patients diagnosed with triple-negative (TNBC) or HER2-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Methods

Patients who self-identified as non-Hispanic white (NHW) or non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and were diagnosed with Stage I–III TNBC (n = 171 including 124 NHW and 47 NHB) and HER2-positive (n = 161 including 136 NHW and 25 NHB) breast cancer who received NAC from 2000 to 2018 at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center were included. Associations of race with pCR and survival outcomes were evaluated using logistic and Cox regression models, respectively.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference in pCR between NHB and NHW patients with TNBC (31.9 vs 29.8%; OR: 1.11, 95% CI 0.54–2.29) or HER2-positive breast cancer (36.0 vs 39.7%; OR: 0.87, 95% CI 0.36–3.11). After controlling for potential confounders, including age, stage, treatment regimens, insurance status, and comorbidities, no statistically significant difference in OS or RFS was observed between NHB and NHW patients within either subtype.

Conclusion

TNBC or HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated at a single academic center in Buffalo, NY, showed similar outcomes independent of patients’ race. Given the known genetic diversity of African American ancestry in the US, further studies investigating the interplay between race, geography, and clinical outcomes are warranted.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Takabe was supported by United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) grants R01CA251545, R01CA250412, and R37CA248018, and United States Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program grants W81XWH-19-1-0674 and W81XWH-19-1-0111. Dr. Ambrosone is a recipient of funding from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award Number KL2TR001413 and UL1TR001412. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. This research was also supported by the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA016056).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA

    Maithreyi Sarma, Stuthi Perimbeti, Kristopher Attwood, Tracey O’Connor, Amy Early, Ellis G. Levine, Kazuaki Takabe, Pawel Kalinski, Christine Ambrosone, Thaer Khoury, Song Yao & Shipra Gandhi

  2. University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Samar Nasir

  3. Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY, USA

    Ankita Kapoor

Authors
  1. Maithreyi Sarma
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  2. Stuthi Perimbeti
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  3. Samar Nasir
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  4. Kristopher Attwood
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  5. Ankita Kapoor
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  6. Tracey O’Connor
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  7. Amy Early
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  8. Ellis G. Levine
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  9. Kazuaki Takabe
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  10. Pawel Kalinski
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  11. Christine Ambrosone
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  12. Thaer Khoury
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  13. Song Yao
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  14. Shipra Gandhi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maithreyi Sarma.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This research study was conducted retrospectively from data obtained for clinical purposes. The study was approved by Roswell Park Institutional Review Board.

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Sarma, M., Perimbeti, S., Nasir, S. et al. Lack of racial differences in clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a single academic center study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 192, 411–421 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-021-06506-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-021-06506-y

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