Racial disparities in supportive medication use among older patients with brain metastases: a population-based analysis

BACKGROUND: Brain metastases (BM) cause symptoms that supportive medications can alleviate. We assessed whether racial disparities exist in supportive medication utilization after BM diagnosis. METHODS: Medicare-enrolled patients linked with the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program (SEER) who had diagnoses of BM between 2007 and 2016 were identified. Fourteen supportive medication classes were studied: non-opioid analgesics, opioids, anti-emetics, anti-epileptics, headache-targeting medications, steroids, cognitive aids, antidepressants, anxiolytics, antidelirium/antipsychotic agents, muscle relaxants, psychostimulants, sleep aids, and appetite stimulants. Drug administration <=30 days following BM diagnosis was compared by race using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 17,957 patients, headache aids, antidepressants, and anxiolytics were prescribed less frequently to African Americans (odds ratio [95% CI] = 0.81 [0.73-0.90], P