Steven Patierno

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an understudied and aggressive form of breast cancer with a poor prognosis, accounting for 2-6% of new breast cancer diagnoses but 10% of all breast cancer-related deaths in the United States. Currently there are no therapeutic regimens developed specifically for IBC, and it is critical to recognize that all aspects of treating IBC - including staging, diagnosis, and therapy - are vastly different than other breast cancers. In December 2014, under the umbrella of an interdisciplinary initiative supported by the Duke School of Medicine, researchers, clinicians, research administrators, and patient advocates formed the Duke Consortium for IBC to address the needs of patients in North Carolina (an ethnically and economically diverse state with 100 counties) and across the Southeastern United States. The primary goal of this group is to translate research into action and improve both awareness and patient care through collaborations with local, national and international IBC programs. The consortium held its inaugural meeting on Feb 28, 2018, which also marked Rare Disease Day and convened national research experts, clinicians, patients, advocates, government representatives, foundation leaders, staff, and trainees. The meeting focused on new developments and challenges in the clinical management of IBC, research challenges and opportunities, and an interactive session to garner input from patients, advocates, and community partners that would inform a strategic plan toward continuing improvements in IBC patient care, research, and education.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15921.

PURPOSE: Poor and underserved women face barriers in receiving timely and appropriate breast cancer care. Patient navigators help individuals overcome these barriers, but little is known about whether patient navigation improves quality of care. The purpose of this study is to examine whether navigated women with breast cancer are more likely to receive recommended standard breast cancer care. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Women with breast cancer who participated in the national Patient Navigation Research Program were examined to determine whether the care they received included the following: initiation of antiestrogen therapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer; initiation of postlumpectomy radiation therapy; and initiation of chemotherapy in women younger than age 70 years with triple-negative tumors more than 1 cm. This is a secondary analysis of a multicenter quasi-experimental study funded by the National Cancer Institute to evaluate patient navigation. Multiple logistic regression was performed to compare differences in receipt of care between navigated and non-navigated participants. RESULTS: Among participants eligible for antiestrogen therapy, navigated participants (n = 380) had a statistically significant higher likelihood of receiving antiestrogen therapy compared with non-navigated controls (n = 381; odds ratio [OR], 1.73; P = .004) in a multivariable analysis. Among the participants eligible for radiation therapy after lumpectomy, navigated participants (n = 255) were no more likely to receive radiation (OR, 1.42; P = .22) than control participants (n = 297). CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that navigated participants were more likely than non-navigated participants to receive antiestrogen therapy. Future studies are required to determine the full impact patient navigation may have on ensuring that vulnerable populations receive quality care.