Ethnic disparities in adherence to breast cancer survivorship surveillance care

Abstract

BACKGROUND Adherence to guidelines for surveillance mammography and clinic visits is an important component of breast cancer survivorship care. Identifying ethnic disparities in adherence may lead to improved care delivery and outcomes. METHODS Records were evaluated for 4535 patients who were treated for stage I, II, or III breast cancer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, cancer center between January 1997 and December 2006. Generalized estimating equations and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to evaluate ethnic differences in missed mammograms and clinic visits up to 4 years of follow-up and the impact of those differences on overall survival. RESULTS Nonadherence to guidelines for mammography (P =.0002) and clinic visits (P