Social determinants of health and other predictors in initiation of treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors for HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer

Although CDK4/6 inhibitors have become the standard of care in HR+ HER2- breast cancer, there are barriers to treatment initiation. Researchers used a retrospective cohort design to evaluate social determinants of health and other factors associated with the initiation of CDK4/6 inhibitors among Medicare patients. They found that older patients who live in areas with high median household income and a high proportion of Medicare-only coverage had higher rates of initiating CDK4/6 inhibitors in comparison to patients living in areas with low median household income and a low proportion of Medicare-only coverage. They concluded that there is a need for policy intervention to address the inequitable access to this standard-of-care treatment.