Dr. Neupane of the Jacobi Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses research on leukemia outcomes that he presented during the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology.
Dr. Neupane and colleagues presented data from a retrospective, observational study of a minority-predominant population of patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to investigate overall survival (OS) outcomes among patients who were Hispanic, Black, and non-Hispanic White.
They conducted the single-center study to address gaps in knowledge surrounding minority-predominant populations of patients, Dr. Neupane said.
“This is a unique population with unique challenges,” he said.
The study included 59 patients, with 17 who were of Hispanic ethnicity, 19 who were Black, 10 who were White, and eight who were other races.
Dr. Neupane and colleagues determined that patients of Hispanic ethnicity had significantly worse outcomes with lower OS compared to those who not Hispanic.
“We figured out that Hispanic patients overall are at higher risk of mortality with this particular type of ALL,” he said.
They did not find a significant difference in OS based on immunophenotype, sex, or race. However, the cause of the OS disparity remains a question, he said.
“Hispanic patients have worse [OS], but we don’t exactly know why,” Dr. Neupane said.