Abstract A31: Factors associated with compliance to adjuvant hormone therapy for African American and Caucasian women.

Background: Studies have documented lower rates of breast cancer survival for African American versus Caucasian women. Differences in compliance to adjuvant hormone therapy (AHT) may partially explain the survival disparity. The purpose of our study is to examine whether or not a difference in self-reported compliance to AHT exists between African American and Caucasian women and to describe which factors may impact this compliance.

Methods: Women who were 2-10 years from diagnosis of estrogen receptor positive, non-metastatic breast cancer at the University of Chicago Hospital were asked to complete a voluntary mail-in survey. All information was self-reported. Compliance to AHT was defined as not missing more than 2 doses of therapy a month and completing 5 years of therapy (or still taking therapy if less than 5 years had passed between initiation of therapy and date of survey completion). Chi square tests and logistic regressions were performed to compare compliance rates by sociodemographic factors, reported perception of AHT importance, and self-perceived risk for breast cancer recurrence.

Results: Among the 381 eligible patients, 217 (56.9%) completed the survey. Overall self-reported compliance rate to AHT was 78.5%. African American women (n = 66, 30.8%) reported lower compliance rates compared to Caucasian women (70.0% vs. 82.3%, P = 0.055). For both African American and Caucasian women, perceived importance of AHT (from not important to very important) was correlated with higher rates of reported compliance (OR = 10.65; 95% CI: 3.55-31.94). Patients who weighted their cancer doctor's opinion more when considering taking or stopping AHT were also more likely to report being compliant (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 0.75-5.25), whereas patients who reported being very worried about side effects were less likely to report being compliant (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.10-1.13). Perceived risk of breast cancer recurrence, however, was not associated with reported compliance.

Conclusions: For both African American and Caucasian women, compliance to adjuvant hormone therapy was associated with greater perceived importance of therapy. This study suggests that educating our patients on the importance of hormone therapy may significantly impact their compliance.

Citation Format: Christina H. Suh, Sumita Bhatta, Ningqi Hou, Zakiya N. Factors associated with compliance to adjuvant hormone therapy for African American and Caucasian women. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A31.