A study found that race/ethnicity, income, and access to chemotherapy and radiation therapy improved outcomes in patients with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma. The results were presented at the 2022 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.
Burkitt lymphoma is potentially fatal if untreated, and the prognosis is typically poor for adult patients. The researchers sought to assess race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors to determine any impact on outcomes in this patient population.
They used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 Registry to extract data on patients with a primary diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma from 2007 to 2019. Researchers used a Cox regression model to determine any association among race/ethnicity, age, sex, annual median income, disease stage at presentation and treatment modalities, and overall survival.
The analysis comprised 3,578 patients with Burkitt lymphoma with complete survival data, 60.8% of whom were non-Hispanic White, 9.6% were non-Hispanic Black, 19.5% were Hispanic, 8.9% were non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1.4% were of other race/ethnicities.
See TABLE 1 for one- and five-year survival outcomes by race.
TABLE 1. One- and Five-Year Survival Based on Race | ||
One-Year Survival Rate | Five-Year Survival Rate | |
Non-Hispanic white | 96.8% | 88.1% |
Non-Hispanic Black | 94.8% | 81.8% |
Hispanic | 97.9% | 87.4% |
Non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander | 96.7% | 85.4% |
Increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% CI, 1.03-1.04; P<.001) and racial status as non-Hispanic Black (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.46-2.34; P≤.001) were both associated with worse survival. Conversely, receipt of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as being in the highest income quintiles (defined as an annual income above $60,000) were associated with better survival.
In a modeling analysis, the reduced survival observed among non-Hispanic Blacks was deemed partially attributable to lower income and reduced access to treatment modalities. There was no survival disparity by sex (female OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.72-1.03; P=.11).
Reference
Akinyemi O, Abodunrin FO, Adeoye O, et al. Poor survival outcomes among patients with Burkitt lymphoma are associated with socioeconomic disparities. Abstract #3618. Presented at the 64th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition; December 10-13, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana.