Abstract B74: DISPARITIES IN SURVIVAL AMONG HISPANIC CHILDREN WITH CANCER: THE TEXAS EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION

In 2014, 15,780 incident cancers occurred among US children and adolescents, 15% of whom were Hispanic. Hispanic children with cancer have shown an increased mortality compared to Whites, however, existing studies are small and limited to a few cancer types. We evaluated the association of Hispanic ethnicity with mortality among children with all cancer types.

METHODS

Using Texas Cancer Registry data, we examined differences in all-cause mortality between Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites 0-19 years old diagnosed with a primary malignancy, 1995-2013. Differences in survival were estimated using unadjusted Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models (adjusted for age, sex, year of diagnosis, cancer type, stage). Analyses were conducted for all cancer types and separately by type (leukemia, lymphoma, solid tumors).

RESULTS

Of 18,687 patients (8,659 Hispanic, 10,028 Non-Hispanic White), 27% had leukemia, 59% a solid tumor, and 13% had lymphoma. In unadjusted Kaplan-Meier analyses, Hispanics with leukemia (p<.001) and solid tumors (p<.001), but not lymphoma (p=.245) had higher mortality, compared to Whites. In adjusted Cox proportional hazard models, Hispanics had higher mortality for all cancer types combined (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.22-1.37), leukemia (aHR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.19-1.51), and solid tumors (aHR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.17-1.36), but not lymphoma (aHR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.93-1.38).

CONCLUSION

Hispanic children with leukemia or solid tumors in Texas have higher risk of death, compared to Whites. Future research should seek to understand reasons underlying this disparity and to develop interventions designed to improve survival among Hispanic children with cancer.

Citation Format: Erika Lopez Bertiery, Lei Xuan, Sandi Pruitt. DISPARITIES IN SURVIVAL AMONG HISPANIC CHILDREN WITH CANCER: THE TEXAS EXPERIENCE. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B74.