Abstract C54: Reducing time-to-treatment in underserved Latinas with breast cancer: The Six Cities Study

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention biomarkers & prevention, 2014-11, Vol.23 (11_Supplement), p.C54-C54
• Main Authors: Ramirez, Amelie G., Perez-Stable, Eliseo J., Penedo, Frank, Talavera, Gregory A., Carillo, J. Emilio, Fernandez, Maria F., Holden, Alan E.C., Munoz, Edgar, Gallion, Kipling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1055-9965; 1538-7755
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-C54

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of Latina cancer deaths. Time from diagnosis to treatment is critical in optimizing care. Patient navigation (PN) holds promise for timely breast cancer treatment promotion, yet efficacy among underserved women is insufficiently documented. Methods: Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network evaluated a theory-driven, culturally-sensitive PN program for Latinas with breast cancer in six U.S. cities. We analyzed 109 Latinas diagnosed with breast cancer from July 2008-January 2011 (42 navigated, 67 controls). We evaluated proportions of women treated within 30 and 60 days of diagnosis and overall time to treatment. Women were navigated by locally trained navigators, or non-navigated. Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models were used to determine group differences. Results: A higher percentage of navigated subjects initiated treatment within 30 days (66.7% versus 56.7%, p=0.045) and 60 days (97.8% versus 78.4%, p=0.021). Overall navigated women experienced shorter time to treatment initiation (HR=1.60, p=0.000). These results were independent of stage at diagnosis, cancer clinic and participant characteristics. Five navigator activities were associated with faster treatment times: accompaniment (p=0.006), transportation arrangements (p=0.013), patient telephone support (generally emotional support, p=0.034), patient-family telephone support (p=0.030), and Spanish-English language translation services (p=0.002). Conclusions: Patient-centered navigation to assist Latina women with breast cancer diagnoses increases the proportion of women beginning treatment within 30 and 60 days of diagnosis and significantly reduces overall time from diagnosis to treatment. Improvement appears to be associated with specific navigator activities. Citation Format: Amelie G. Ramirez, Eliseo J. Perez-Stable, Frank Penedo, Gregory A. Talavera, J. Emilio Carillo, Maria F. Fernandez, Alan E.C. Holden, Edgar Munoz, Kipling Gallion. Reducing time-to-treatment in underserved Latinas with breast cancer: The Six Cities Study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C54. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-C54