Racial and ethnic differences in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma survival among an underserved, urban population

Abstract

Racial/ethnic differences in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) survival have focused on non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB), often excluding Hispanics/Latinos. To further assess these racial/ethnic survival differences, we identified incident DLBCL cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2016 (n = 404; NHW = 136, NHB = 106, Hispanic/Latino = 162) at Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, NY). All-cause mortality survival curves were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the association between demographic/clinical factors and all-cause mortality. Hispanic/Latino patients experienced 52% lower risk of mortality compared to NHWs (HR = 0.48, 95%CI = 0.28–0.83), after adjusting for clinical prognostic factors. This reduced risk experienced by Hispanics/Latinos was similarly observed by age at diagnosis (≤60 years, >60 years), stage (I/II, III/IV), and receipt of chemotherapy. NHBs and NHWs experienced similar risk of mortality (HR = 0.85, 95%CI = 0.52–1.40). Overall, among DLBCL patients, Hispanics/Latinos had improved survival compared to NHWs. Additional research should seek to identify the drivers of this survival benefit.

Keywords:

• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• race/ethnicity
• epidemiology
• non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research described was supported by NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) Einstein-Montefiore CTSA Grant Number UL1TR001073.