Which women with breast cancer do, and do not, undergo receptor status testing? A population-based study

Abstract

Introduction: Receptor status determines of breast cancer treatment and prognosis. In a population-based study, we investigated predictors of receptor test receipt.

Materials and methods: Invasive breast cancers diagnosed 2006-2008 were abstracted from the National Cancer Registry Ireland. Modified Poisson regression with robust error variance was used to identify socio-demographic, health service and clinical predictors of not undergoing ER, PR or HER2 testing.

Results: 7619 breast cancers were included. 7% were not tested for any receptor. 92%, 80% and 86% had oestrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) tests, respectively; 73% were tested for all three. For all three tests, unmarried women were significantly less likely to be tested than married women. Current smokers significantly more often had ER and PR tests. Women treated in a high-volume hospital significantly more often had ER and HER2 tests.

Conclusion: After adjusting for clinical factors, socio-demographic and service-related factors significantly predicted receptor test receipt. Some factors deserve further investigation, especially marital status. In the interests of equity, the reasons underlying these associations should be further investigated.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Health service research; Marital status; Population-based; Receptor testing.