Adjuvant chemotherapy dosing in low-income women: the impact of Hispanic ethnicity and patient self-efficacy

Unwarranted breast cancer adjuvant chemotherapy dose reductions have been documented in black women, women of lower socioeconomic status, and those who are obese. No information on the quality of chemotherapy is available in Hispanic women. The purpose of this study was to characterize factors associated with first cycle chemotherapy dose selection in a multi-ethnic sample of low-income women receiving chemotherapy through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Treatment Program (BCCPT) and to investigate the impact of Hispanic ethnicity and patient self-efficacy on adjuvant chemotherapy dose selection. Survey and chemotherapy information were obtained from consenting participants enrolled in the California BCCPT. Analyses identified clinical and non-clinical factors associated with first cycle chemotherapy doses less than 90 % of expected doses. Of 552 patients who received chemotherapy, 397 (72 %) were eligible for inclusion. First cycle dose reductions were given to 14 % of the sample. In multivariate analyses, increasing body mass index and non-academic treatment site were associated with doses below 90 % of the expected doses. No other clinical or non-clinical factors, including ethnicity, were associated with first cycle doses selection. In this universally low-income sample, we identified no association between Hispanic ethnicity and other non-clinical patient factors, including patient self-efficacy, in chemotherapy dose selection. As seen in other studies, obesity was associated with systematic dose limits. The guidelines on chemotherapy dose selection in the obese may help address such dose reductions. A greater understanding of the association between type of treatment site and dose selection is warranted. Overall, access to adequate health care allows the vast majority of low-income women with breast cancer to receive high-quality breast cancer chemotherapy.