Investigating associations between health-related quality of life and endocrine therapy under-utilization in women with early-stage breast cancer.

170 Background: Endocrine therapy under-utilization puts women at increased risk for breast cancer recurrence. The objective of this study was to determine if health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was significantly associated with under-utilization. Methods: Data came from the third phase of the population-based Carolina Breast Cancer Study. We included 1,599 women with hormone receptor positive disease aged 20-74 years. HRQOL was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Breast Cancer, on average, 5-months post-diagnosis. HRQOL domains included physical, functional, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being and breast cancer concerns. HRQOL subgroups were derived using latent profile analysis. Under-utilization was defined as not initiating or adhering to endocrine therapy by 36-months post-diagnosis. Multivariable logit models estimated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) between HRQOL subgroups and under-utilization. The subgroup with the best HRQOL scores across domains was the reference category. Chemotherapy and race-stratified models were estimated, separately. Results: Initiation analyses included 953 women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer who had not begun endocrine therapy by their 5-month survey, of whom 154 never initiated. Adherence analyses included 1,114 initiators, of whom 211 were non-adherent. HRQOL was not significantly associated with non-initiation except among non-chemotherapy users, with membership in the poorest subgroup associated with an increased odds of non-initiation (aOR 5.5; 1.7-17.4). Membership the two poorest HRQOL subgroups was associated with non-adherence (aOR 2.2; 1.2-4.0 and aOR1.9; 1.1-3.6), respectively. Membership in the poorest HRQOL subgroup was associated with non-adherence among non-chemotherapy users (aOR 2.1; 1.2-5.1). Conclusions: Our results suggest that women with poor HRQOL during active treatment may be at increased risk for under-utilization. Focusing on HRQOL, a modifiable factor, may improve targeting of future interventions early in the breast cancer continuum to improve endocrine therapy initiation, adherence, and breast cancer recurrence.

Duke Scholars

Author Bryce B. Reeve Population Health Sciences