Background There are few studies on breast cancer outcomes in the Caribbean region. This study identified a retrospective cohort of female patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer in Haiti and conducted survival analyses to identify prognostic factors that may affect patient outcomes. Methods The cohort included 341 patients presenting between June 2012 and December 2016. The primary endpoint was event‐free survival (EFS), defined as time to disease progression, recurrence, or death. Descriptive summaries of patient characteristics and treatments were reported. Survival curves were plotted using Kaplan‐Meier estimation. Multivariate survival analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results Median age at diagnosis was 49 years, with 64.2% being premenopausal. Most patients (55.1%) were staged as locally advanced. One hundred and sixty patients received neoadjuvant therapy: 33.3% of patients with early stage disease and 61.2% of those with locally advanced stage disease. Curative‐intent surgery was performed in 278 (81.5%) patients, and 225 patients received adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant endocrine therapy was used in 82.0% of patients with estrogen receptor–positive disease. During the follow‐up period, 28 patients died, 77 had disease recurrence, and 10 had progressive disease. EFS rates at 2 years and 3 years were 80.9% and 63.4%, respectively. After controlling for multiple confounders, the locally advanced stage group had a statistically significant adjusted hazard ratio for EFS of 3.27 compared with early stage. Conclusion Patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer in Haiti have more advanced disease, poorer prognostic factors, and worse outcomes compared with patients in high‐income countries. Despite several limitations, curative treatment is possible in Haiti. Implications for Practice Patients with breast cancer in Haiti have poor outcomes. Prior studies show that most Haitian patients are diagnosed at later stages. However, there are no rigorous studies describing how late‐stage diagnosis and other prognostic factors affect outcomes in this population. This study presents a detailed analysis of survival outcomes and assessment of prognostic factors in patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer treated in Haiti. In addition to late‐stage diagnosis, other unfavorable prognostic factors identified were young age and estrogen receptor‐negative disease. The study also highlights that the availability of basic breast cancer treatment in Haiti can lead to promising early patient outcomes.

PURPOSE Few studies have explored the relationship between body habitus and breast cancer outcomes in Caribbean women of African ancestry. This study evaluates the association between body mass index (BMI) and disease-free survival (DFS) in a retrospective cohort of 224 female Haitian patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS BMI was obtained from the medical records and categorized as normal weight (< 25 kg/m2), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥ 30 kg/m2). DFS was defined as time from surgical resection to disease recurrence, death, or censoring. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated, and the association between BMI and DFS was evaluated using Cox proportional hazard models to control for multiple confounders. Exploratory analyses were conducted on weight changes during adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS Eighty-three patients (37.1%) were normal weight, 66 (29.5%) were overweight, and 75 (33.5%) were obese. There were no statistical differences in baseline characteristics or treatments received by BMI group. Twenty-six patients died and 73 had disease recurrence. Median DFS was 41.1 months. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed no significant DFS differences by BMI categories. After controlling for confounders, normal weight patients, when compared with overweight and obese patients, had adjusted hazard ratios of 0.85 (95% CI, 0.49 to 1.49) and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.52 to 1.55), respectively. Overall, mean weight loss of 2% of body weight was noted over the course of adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients who were postmenopausal ( P = .007) and obese ( P = .05) lost more weight than other groups. However, chemotherapy-related weight changes did not have an impact on DFS. CONCLUSION Baseline BMI and weight changes during adjuvant chemotherapy did not have an impact on DFS in this cohort. Future prospective studies in similar Caribbean breast cancer cohorts are needed to verify study findings.

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Background There are limited data on breast surgery completion rates and prevalence of care-continuum delays in breast cancer treatment programs in low-income countries. Methods This study analyzes treatment data in a retrospective cohort of 312 female patients with non-metastatic breast cancer in Haiti. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient characteristics; treatments received; and treatment delays of > 12 weeks. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify factors associated with receiving surgery and with treatment delays. Exploratory multivariate survival analysis examined the association between surgery delays and disease-free survival (DFS). Results Of 312 patients, 249 (80%) completed breast surgery. The odds ratio (OR) for surgery completion for urban vs. rural dwellers was 2.15 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19–3.88) and for those with locally advanced vs. early-stage disease was 0.34 (95%CI: 0.16–0.73). Among the 223 patients with evaluable surgery completion timelines, 96 (43%) experienced delays. Of the 221 patients eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy, 141 (64%) received adjuvant chemotherapy, 66 of whom (47%) experienced delays in chemotherapy initiation. Presentation in the later years of the cohort (2015–2016) was associated with lower rates of surgery completion (75% vs. 85%) and with delays in adjuvant chemotherapy initiation (OR [95%CI]: 3.25 [1.50–7.06]). Exploratory analysis revealed no association between surgical delays and DFS. Conclusion While majority of patients obtained curative-intent surgery, nearly half experienced delays in surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy initiation. Although our study was not powered to identify an association between surgical delays and DFS, these delays may negatively impact long-term outcomes.

e18333 Background: Lack of local oncology specialists remains a challenge in delivering cancer care in low-resource areas. Since 2013, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has partnered with Zanmi Lasante, a Haitian non-profit to support the oncology department at University Hospital Mirebalais, a tertiary government hospital. In an effort to build local capacity, the partnership established weekly remote tumor boards between US oncologists and Haitian clinicians. For five years, the tumor boards were conducted by phone; they were limited by inconsistent participant engagement and suboptimal sound quality. The goal of the project was to enhance the tumor boards by implementing a video-based system, and to evaluate its feasibility and acceptance. Methods: We conducted a baseline mixed-methods assessment of satisfaction among tumor board participants. We trained participants on the new video-platform (ZOOM) and implemented its use. We conducted weekly surveys over an 18-week period, using a Likert 1-5 scale to assess call quality and satisfaction with discussion. We collected general information about cases and call logistics. Lastly, we conducted a post-implementation survey. Two-sample T-test was used to examine changes in satisfaction scores. Results: Over the study period, 12 calls occurred; six calls were cancelled –due holidays (2), lack of cases (4). A total of 32 cases were presented, an average of 2.67/call. The cases by cancer type were: 75% breast, 9.38% gynecologic, 9.38%, hematologic, and 6.26% others. Baseline overall satisfaction ranking from 11 participants (response rate-RR 78.6%) was 3.18, while post-implementation from 8 participants (RR 66.7%) was 4.24, P-value= 0.0025. Summary of Weekly Calls (Averages). Conclusions: There was improved call quality and overall satisfaction with transitioning to video-based tumor boards. During longer video calls with didactics, Haiti participants noted lower call quality and satisfaction, likely due to low internet-bandwidth. Videoconference tumor boards are feasible in low resource settings.[Table: see text]