Background: Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) treatments have been on the rise among white women with early stage unilateral breast cancer who have a higher socioeconomic status (SES) and private insurance. Low income and uninsured women are not choosing CPM at the same rate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the socioeconomic factors related to the choice of surgical treatment in women diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer in the state of New Jersey. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study of 10 years of breast cancer data abstracted from the New Jersey State Cancer Registry utilized bivariate analyses and two multivariate logistic regression models to analyze the effect of socioeconomics on choice of surgical treatment. Results: In New Jersey, 52,529 women were treated for breast cancer from 2004 to 2014. CPM rates increased gradually over time from 3.72% in 2004 to 10.82% in 2014 with women more likely to choose CPM if they were younger, white, and had private insurance (p < 0.001). The single factor that was most predictive of choosing CPM was access to immediate reconstruction (odds ratio 2.36, confidence interval 2.160-2.551). Women with low SES were much less likely to choose CPM. Conclusions: Results of this study may provide incentive for researchers to assess the impact of culture, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomics on a woman's interactions with health care providers so as to allow all women regardless of SES to express their needs, concerns, and wishes when confronted with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Keywords: breast neoplasms; contralateral prophylactic mastectomy; decision-making.