Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, tumor subtypes, and causes of death after non-metastatic invasive breast cancer diagnosis: a multilevel competing-risk analysis

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2014 Oct;147(3):661-70. doi: 10.1007/s10549-014-3135-z. Epub 2014 Sep 19.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the associations of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype with causes of death [breast cancer (BC)-specific and non-BC-specific] among non-metastatic invasive BC patients. We identified 3,312 patients younger than 75 years (mean age 53.5 years; 621 [18.8 %] TNBC) with first primary BC treated at an academic medical center from 1999 to 2010. We constructed a census-tract-level socioeconomic deprivation index using the 2000 U.S. Census data and performed a multilevel competing-risk analysis to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) of BC-specific and non-BC-specific mortality associated with neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and TNBC subtype. The adjusted models controlled for patient sociodemographics, health behaviors, tumor characteristics, comorbidity, and cancer treatment. With a median 62-month follow-up, 349 (10.5 %) patients died; 233 died from BC. In the multivariate models, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was independently associated with non-BC-specific mortality (the most- vs. the least-deprived quartile: HR = 2.98, 95 % CI = 1.33-6.66); in contrast, its association with BC-specific mortality was explained by the aforementioned patient-level covariates, particularly sociodemographic factors (HR = 1.15, 95 % CI = 0.71-1.87). TNBC subtype was independently associated with non-BC-specific mortality (HR = 2.15; 95 % CI = 1.20-3.84), while the association between TNBC and BC-specific mortality approached significance (HR = 1.42; 95 % CI = 0.99-2.03, P = 0.057). Non-metastatic invasive BC patients who lived in more socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods were more likely to die as a result of causes other than BC compared with those living in the least socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods. TNBC was associated with non-BC-specific mortality but not BC-specific mortality.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Black or African American
  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Breast Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Breast Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cause of Death
  • Comorbidity
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Missouri / epidemiology
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Risk Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors*
  • Survival Rate
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / ethnology
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / mortality
  • Young Adult