Treatment Interruptions and Mortality Among Puerto Rican Women With Gynecologic Cancers in Puerto Rico After Hurricanes Irma and María: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
; 18: e105, 2024 May 21.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38770585
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Cancer patients are among the most vulnerable populations during and after a disaster. We evaluated the impact of treatment interruption on the survival of women with gynecologic cancer in Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Irma and María.METHODS:
A retrospective cohort study among a clinic-based sample of women with gynecological cancer diagnosed between January 2016 and September 2017 (n = 112) was done. Women were followed from their diagnosis until December 2019, to assess vital status. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models were performed.RESULTS:
Mean age was 56 (± 12.3) years; corpus uteri (58.9%) was the most common gynecologic cancer. Predominant treatments were surgery (91.1%) and chemotherapy (44.6%). Overall, 75.9% were receiving treatment before the hurricanes, 16.1% experienced treatment interruptions, and 8.9% died during the follow-up period. Factors associated with treatment interruption in bivariate analysis included younger age (≤55 years), having regional/distant disease, and receiving > 1 cancer treatment (P < 0.05). Crude analysis revealed an increased risk of death among women with treatment interruption (HR 3.88, 95% CI 1.09-13.77), persisting after adjusting for age and cancer stage (HR 2.49, 95% CI 0.69-9.01).CONCLUSIONS:
Findings underscore the detrimental impact of treatment interruption on cancer survival in the aftermath of hurricanes, emphasizing the need for emergency response plans for this vulnerable population.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Tormentas Ciclónicas
/
Neoplasias de los Genitales Femeninos
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Caribe
/
Puerto rico
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE PUBLICA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Puerto Rico