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Understanding age and race disparities in the application of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

ABSTRACT: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard of care for surgical evaluation of early-stage breast cancer and is being employed as a quality metric for accreditation of breast centers. Previous studies report disparities in SLNB receipt. The goal of this study is to determine SLNB rates and explore rationale for non-receipt of SLNB. Patients with early-stage breast cancer diagnosed between 2010 and 2011 were identified from the University Hospitals Case Medical Center tumor registry. Multivariable logistic models were used to identify clinical and demographic risk factors for patients who did not receive SLNB. We performed chart reviews to elucidate reasons for the lack of SLNB. Our total sample was 479 patients; of them 432 (90.2%) received SLNB. On average, patients who received SLNB were younger than those who did not receive SLNB (61 compared to 79 years, respectively). Patients ≥80 years were 96% less likely to receive SLNB compared to patients <65 years (OR 0.04; 95% CI 0.00 to 0.14). There were no differences in SLNB by race, between patients undergoing Medicare or Medicaid and managed care, by surgeon specialty, or across medical centers. Chart review determined that 45/47 patients did not have SLNB, because it was a clinical decision-making; advanced age (>80 years) was cited in 27/47 women. Older women had much lower odds of receiving SLNB; however, non-receipt of SLNB was often due to a clinical reasoning. Our study highlights the importance of clinical reasoning in receiving SLNB, whereas other studies solely employing administrative databases do not.

SUBMITTER: Radhakrishnan A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5561424 | biostudies-other | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:ImportanceRacial disparities exist in many aspects of breast cancer care. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was developed to replace axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for staging early breast cancer to minimize complications. Racial disparities in the use of SLNB remain incompletely characterized, and their effect on lymphedema risk is not known.ObjectiveTo determine racial differences in SLNB use among patients with pathologically node-negative breast cancer during the period when SLNB became the preferred method for axillary staging as well as whether such differences affect lymphedema risk.Design, setting, and participantsA retrospective study was conducted using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare-linked database from 2002 through 2007 to identify cases of incident, nonmetastatic, pathologically node-negative breast cancer in women aged 66 years or older.Main outcomes and measuresSentinel lymph node biopsy use and 5-year cumulative incidence of lymphedema by race.ResultsOf 31 274 women identified, 1767 (5.6%) were black, 27 856 (89.1%) were white, and 1651 (5.3%) were of other or unknown race. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 73.7% of white patients and 62.4% of black patients (P < .001). The use of SLNB increased by year for both black and white patients (P < .001); however, a fixed disparity of approximately 12 percentage points in SLNB use persisted through 2007. In adjusted analysis, black patients were significantly less likely than white patients to undergo SLNB (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.60-0.75; P < .001). Overall, the 5-year cumulative lymphedema risk was 8.2% in whites and 12.3% in blacks (hazard ratio [HR], 1.43; 95% CI, 1.23-1.67; P < .001). When stratified by type of axillary surgery, 5-year lymphedema risk was 6.8% in whites undergoing SLNB (HR, 1 [reference]), 8.8% in blacks undergoing SLNB (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.02-1.60; P = .03), 12.2% in whites undergoing ALND (1.79; 1.63-1.96; P < .001), and 18.0% in blacks undergoing ALND (2.76; 2.25-3.39; P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceAlthough SLNB use increased in both black and white patients with pathologically node-negative breast cancer from 2002 through 2007, the rates of SLNB remained lower in black than white patients during this entire period by approximately 12 percentage points. This racial disparity in SLNB use contributed to racial disparities in lymphedema risk. Improvements in the dissemination of new techniques are needed to avoid disparities in breast cancer care and patient outcomes, particularly in disadvantaged groups.

Project description:To limit the potential short and long-term morbidity of lymphadenectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy has been proposed for endometrial cancer. The principle of sentinel lymph node biopsy relies on removal of a small number of lymph nodes that are the first drainage basins from a tumor and thus the most likely to harbor tumor cells. While the procedure may reduce morbidity, efficacy data are limited and little is known about how commonly the procedure is performed.We examined the patterns and predictors of use of sentinel lymph node biopsy and outcomes of the procedure in women with endometrial cancer who underwent hysterectomy.We used the Perspective database to identify women with uterine cancer who underwent hysterectomy from 2011 through 2015. Billing and charge codes were used to classify women as having undergone lymphadenectomy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, or no nodal assessment. Multivariable models were used to examine clinical, demographic, and hospital characteristics with use of sentinel lymph node biopsy. Length of stay and cost were compared among the different methods of nodal assessment.Among 28,362 patients, 9327 (32.9%) did not undergo nodal assessment, 17,669 (62.3%) underwent lymphadenectomy, and 1366 (4.8%) underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 1.3% (95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.6%) of abdominal hysterectomies, 3.4% (95% confidence interval, 2.7-4.1%) of laparoscopic hysterectomies, and 7.5% (95% confidence interval, 7.0-8.0%) of robotic-assisted hysterectomies. In a multivariable model, more recent year of surgery was associated with performance of sentinel lymph node biopsy. Compared to abdominal hysterectomy, those undergoing laparoscopic (adjusted risk ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.89-3.18) and robotic-assisted (adjusted risk ratio, 2.69; 95% confidence interval, 2.19-3.30) hysterectomy were more likely to undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy. Among women who underwent minimally invasive hysterectomy, length of stay and cost were lower for sentinel lymph node biopsy compared to lymphadenectomy.The use of sentinel lymph node biopsy for endometrial cancer increased from 2011 through 2015. The increased use was most notable in women who underwent a robotic-assisted hysterectomy.

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Understanding age and race disparities in the application of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

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