Racial disparities in hospitalization outcomes among women with metastatic breast cancer in the United States by palliative care utilization

Racial disparities in hospitalization outcomes among women with metastatic breast cancer in the United States by palliative care utilization
Cancer Network; by Debu Tripathy, MD; 5/10/24 
Background: While studies have reported that members of racial and minority populations hospitalized with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) have lower palliative care use than non-Hispanic White women, disparities in hospital-associated outcomes among inpatients have not been explored in this population. We examined the racial disparities in hospitalization outcomes among adult women with a diagnosis of MBC, stratified by receipt of palliative care. 
Conclusions: Despite the improvement in palliative care use over the years, members of racial minority populations continue to have poorer outcomes. However, patients who are Black with MBC who received palliative care had similar in-hospital mortality and were less likely to be discharged to a facility when compared with their White counterparts.