Characteristics of breast cancer patients who refuse surgery

David J. Restrepo, Andrea Sisti, Daniel Boczar, Maria T. Huayllani, Jennifer Fishe, Emmanuel Gabriel, Sarah A. McLaughlin, Sanjay Bagaria, Aaron Spaulding, Brian D. Rinker, Antonio J. Forte

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aim: This study describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and tumor-specific characteristics of patients who refuse breast cancer surgery. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study of breast cancer patients from 2004-2015 captured by the National Cancer Data Base. Demographic, socioeconomic, and tumor-specific predictors were compared between patients who refused breast cancer surgery versus those who agreed to surgery, using bivariate and multivariate models. Results: A total of 2,445,870 patients met the inclusion criteria. On multivariate analysis, black and Asian patients had higher odds of refusing surgical treatment compared to whites (OR=2.16, CI=2.05-2.28, p<0.001), (OR=1.58, CI=1.41-1.76, p<0.001), respectively. Moreover, patients with government insurance (OR=1.97, CI=1.86-2.09, p<0.001) and uninsured patients (OR=3.91, CI=3.50-4.36, p<0.001) were found to have higher odds of surgical treatment refusal when compared to patients with private insurance. Conclusion: Specific demographic and disease-specific characteristics are related to refusing potentially life-saving breast cancer surgery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4941-4945
Number of pages5
JournalAnticancer research
Volume39
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Breast cancer
  • Surgery refusal

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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