Lack of racial differences in clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a single academic center study

Purpose To examine the association between race and clinical outcomes (pathological complete response [pCR]; recurrence-free survival [RFS], and overall survival [OS]) in patients diagnosed with triple-negative (TNBC) or HER2-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Methods Patients who self-identified as non-Hispanic white (NHW) or non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and were diagnosed with Stage I–III TNBC ( n = 171 including 124 NHW and 47 NHB) and HER2-positive ( n = 161 including 136 NHW and 25 NHB) breast cancer who received NAC from 2000 to 2018 at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center were included. Associations of race with pCR and survival outcomes were evaluated using logistic and Cox regression models, respectively. Results There was no statistically significant difference in pCR between NHB and NHW patients with TNBC (31.9 vs 29.8%; OR: 1.11, 95% CI 0.54–2.29) or HER2-positive breast cancer (36.0 vs 39.7%; OR: 0.87, 95% CI 0.36–3.11). After controlling for potential confounders, including age, stage, treatment regimens, insurance status, and comorbidities, no statistically significant difference in OS or RFS was observed between NHB and NHW patients within either subtype. Conclusion TNBC or HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated at a single academic center in Buffalo, NY, showed similar outcomes independent of patients’ race. Given the known genetic diversity of African American ancestry in the US, further studies investigating the interplay between race, geography, and clinical outcomes are warranted.