Racial Disparities and Impact of COVID-19 on Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer

By: Vanessa A. Carter, BS
Posted: Friday, September 6, 2024

Thanathip Suenghataiphorn, MD, of Griffin Hospital, Derby, Connecticut, and colleagues aimed to evaluate racial disparities and survival outcomes among patients hospitalized for breast cancer who contracted COVID-19 infection. Their study, which was presented during the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Breakthrough conference (Abstract 16), revealed significant associations between survival outcomes and ethnicity in this patient population.

“Our study underscores that COVID-19 infection is associated with higher in-hospital mortality and other clinical outcomes in breast cancer patients, as well as a disproportionated impact against some races,” the investigators concluded. “Future longitudinal studies are warranted to comprehensively assess the causation of these clinical outcomes in this population.”

The data from 25,559 patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of breast cancer from the 2020 U.S. National Inpatient Sample database were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 infection. Study endpoints included inpatient mortality and system-based complications.

The mean patient age was 59.7 years, and the majority of patients were female (99.3%). The non–COVID-19 cohort consisted of about 60% White patients, followed by 19% Black patients. In contrast, there were more Black (41%) than White (35%) patients in the COVID-19 cohort; the study authors found the difference in race to be significant between groups (P = .05).

Multivariable analysis revealed that COVID-19 infection correlated with a longer hospital stay (P = .001) and higher in-hospital mortality (P = .024), as well as the development of coagulopathy (P = .002), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (P = .026), and acute respiratory failure (P = .008). Of note, numerically higher rates of sepsis, shock, acute kidney injury, and total hospitalization were also reported among patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.

Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.

2024 ASCO Breakthrough