• Andrew P Loehrer, Priscila C Cevallos, Rafael T Jiménez, and Sandra L Wong.
• Department of Surgery, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH 03756.
• Ann. Surg. 2023 Feb 1; 277 (2): 329334329-334.

ObjectiveThis study reviews the surgical literature on racial disparities in breast cancer mortality, specifically evaluating the inclusion, justification, and discussion of race and ethnicity as a driver of disparities.Summary Of Background DataThe volume of research on racial disparities has increased over the past 2 decades, but we hypothesize that there is considerable variation in how race is contextualized, defined, and captured in the disparities literature, leading to its questionable validity and relevance as a covariate. Recent guidelines for reporting have been suggested, but not yet applied.MethodsA rubric was developed to evaluate the reporting of race and/or ethnicity. A systematic review (2010-2020) was performed to identify studies reporting on racial disparities in breast cancer surgery and mortality. We then evaluated these original articles based on key domains of race and/or ethnicity: justification for inclusion, formal definition, methodology used for classification, and type of racism contributing to disparity.ResultsOf the 52 studies assessed, none provided a formal definition for race and/or ethnicity. A justification for the inclusion of race and/or ethnicity was provided in 71% of the studies. Although 81% of studies discussed at least 1 potential driver of observed racial disparities, only 1 study explicitly named racism as a driver of racial disparities.ConclusionsSignificant improvement in the reporting on racial disparities in breast cancer surgical literature is warranted. A more rigorous framework should be applied by both researchers and publishers in reporting on race, racial health disparities, and racism.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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