Table 3.
Adjusted Odds of Receiving Chemotherapy in Older Women With Breast Cancer
| Factor | Overall (N = 799) |
Chemotherapy Indicated (n = 379) |
Chemotherapy Possibly Indicated (n = 420) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR | 95% CI | P | OR | 95% CI | P | OR | 95% CI | P | |
| Preference: ≤ v > 12 months | 3.9 | 2.4 to 6.3 | < .001 | 7.7 | 3.8 to 16 | < .001 | 1.9 | 0.97 to 3.8 | .06 |
| Communication score: 5-point increase | 1.6 | 1.2 to 2.0 | < .001 | 1.3 | 0.9 to 1.9 | .15 | 1.9 | 1.4 to 2.8 | < .001 |
| You are less likely to have the cancer come back if you have chemotherapy: agree v disagree | 5.4 | 2.9 to 10 | < .001 | 5.7 | 2.5 to 13 | < .001 | 4.8 | 1.8 to 13 | .002 |
| The adverse effects are worse than the disease: agree v disagree | 0.3 | 0.2 to 0.5 | < .001 | 0.2 | 0.1 to 0.5 | < .001 | 0.3 | 0.2 to 0.7 | .003 |
| Tumor size | |||||||||
| 2-2.9 v < 2 cm | 2.4 | 1.4 to 4.1 | .002 | 1.8 | 0.8 to 4.0 | .13 | 3.2 | 1.5 to 6.9 | .003 |
| ≥ 3 v < 2 cm | 3.5 | 1.8 to 6.7 | < .001 | 4.5 | 1.9 to 11 | .001 | 2.5 | 0.9 to 7.2 | .09 |
| Nodal status: positive v negative | 17 | 9.7 to 28 | < .001 | ||||||
| ER status: positive v negative | 0.1 | 0.1 to 0.3 | < .001 | ||||||
| OARS: > 2 v 0-2 | 0.7 | 0.5 to 1.1 | .16 | 0.8 | 0.4 to 1.6 | .61 | 0.7 | 0.4 to 1.3 | .27 |
| Surgery: mastectomy v conservation | 1.9 | 1.1 to 3.2 | .01 | 3.7 | 1.7 to 8.0 | .001 | 0.9 | 0.4 to 2.0 | .84 |
| Cognitive function: ≥ 1 error v perfect score | 0.9 | 0.6 to 1.4 | .64 | 0.9 | 0.5 to 1.8 | .80 | 0.9 | 0.5 to 1.8 | .80 |
| Age: 5-year increase | 0.5 | 0.4 to 0.6 | < .001 | 0.4 | 0.3 to 0.6 | < .001 | 0.5 | 0.4 to 0.7 | < .001 |
NOTE. Controlling for race, time from diagnosis to interview, diagnosis year, region, and years from provider medical school graduation in the table was performed using logistic regression models. Results are based on 10 multiple imputed data sets. Chemotherapy was defined as any systemic regimen, including neoadjuvant therapy, based on medical records. Indicated includes women with any positive nodes and/or those with ER-negative tumors; possibly indicated includes all other women. Two women missing ER status are excluded. Women (n = 40, 4.9%) who gave “unsure” as a response for preferences were coded as missing. Results including these women and imputing their results or excluding them were similar, so they were included in final models.
Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; ER, estrogen receptor; OARS, Older Americans Resources and Services.