Does Race Influence DLBCL Survival?

A study presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting assessed whether there was a survival difference between Hispanic (HI) and non-Hispanic (NH) patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). They observed no significant differences in survival outcomes, despite demographic and insurance disparities between the cohorts.

The retrospective study included 15,083 patients diagnosed with DLBCL between 2006 and 2016 from the Texas Cancer Registry database, including 3,583 HI (median age at diagnosis, 61.7 years) and 11,500 NH patients (median age at diagnosis, 65.0 years).

Most (25%) of the HI population was of Mexican origin. The HI group had a higher percentage of non-insured (17.47%) or Medicaid beneficiaries (7.42%) than the NH group (5.56% and 3.21%, respectively; P<0.001). There was a statistically significant higher poverty index among HI patients, with 54.31% of HI patients living on a 20% to 100% poverty land compared with 22.63% of NH patients.

Most patients in both cohorts (46% HI and 45% NH) had stage III-IV DLBCL. The NH population more often received treatment with chemotherapy (4%) compared with the HI group (2%), although this was not statistically significant. Both groups received similar treatments with bone marrow transplant or radiation.

Median survival was similar between HI and NH patients (4.4 years and 4.3 years, respectively). Survival probability at two, five, and 10 years was similar between the cohorts at 0.59 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.576-0.611), 0.48 (95% CI, 0.467-0.506), and 0.301 (95% CI, 0.265-0.340), respectively, for HI patients compared with 0.602 (95% CI, 0.592-0.611), 0.473 (95% CI, 0.463-0484), and 0.242 (95% CI, 0.223-0.262), respectively, for NH patients. The overall survival probability at 10 years was not statistically significantly different for HI versus NH patients (P=0.46).

Reference

Hernandez D, Velez-Mejia C, Michalek JE, et al. A First Large Statewide Population Based Study Evaluating Racial Differences in Treatment and Survival between Hispanics and Non-Hispanics with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Abstract 3054. Presented at the 62nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition, December 2-11, 2020.