2025 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Zain Nadeem¹, Eeman Ahmad², Umar Akram¹, Eeshal Fatima³, Muhammad Bilal Sardar¹, Aimen Nadeem⁴, Syed Inam⁵, Sheharyar Raashid⁵
¹Department of Medicine, Allama Iqbal Medical College, ²Department of Medicine, Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine and Dentistry, ³Department of Medicine, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, ⁴Department of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, ⁵Marshall Neurology

Objective:

We aim to assess the temporal trends in stroke-related deaths in women with breast cancer in the US from 1999 to 2020, stratified by race/ethnicity, age groups, census regions, and urbanization.

Background:

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. It is associated with an increased risk of stroke, which may prove fatal.

Design/Methods:

We used the CDC-WONDER database for data of all decedents with stroke as the underlying and breast cancer as a contributing cause of death. Crude (CRs) and age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated per 100,000. The temporal trends were analyzed by determining the annual percentage change (APC).

Results:

From 1999 to 2020, a total of 12,646 stroke-related deaths were recorded in women with breast cancer in the US. We observed a declining trend in AAMRs from 1999 to 2011 (APC: -5.66), which stabilized thereafter till 2018, and then increased again from 2018 to 2020 (APC: 11.92). The highest AAMR was exhibited by non-Hispanic (NH) Blacks or African Americans (0.296) and the lowest by Hispanics or Latinos (0.137). Older individuals showed much higher CRs, with about thrice the rates in the 85+ years age group (7.819) than the 75 to 84 years age group (2.253). Regional variation in AAMRs was evident (West: 0.322, Midwest: 0.314, South: 0.255, Northeast: 0.235). Greater AAMRs were exhibited by rural areas (0.322) than urban ones (0.274).

Conclusions:

While the stroke-related deaths in women with breast cancer initially declined in the US, the mortality rates have stabilized in recent years. The highest burden was observed in NH Blacks or African Americans, older individuals, and residents of the Western and rural areas. Focused efforts are needed to reduce the disparities and mitigate the stroke-related deaths in breast cancer patients.