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Hispanics with NSCLC appear to live longer than whites and blacks
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Hispanic patients with non–small cell lung cancer had a decreased risk for overall mortality compared with whites and blacks, an advantage that may be due to their tendency to develop certain subtypes of non–small cell lung cancer, according to study results published in Cancer.
To determine how Hispanics compare with other ethnicities regarding survival after a lung cancer diagnosis, Ali M. Saeed, BS, and researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine analyzed patient information from the SEER database.
The researchers identified 172,398 adult patients with pathologically confirmed NSCLC diagnosed between 1988 and 2007. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to establish the effect of race/ethnicity on OS. In addition, pair-wise comparisons were used to resolve whether Hispanic ethnicity influenced NSCLC histology or stage at diagnosis.
Compared with non-Hispanic white patients, Hispanics exhibited a statistically significant improved OS (HR=0.85; 95% CI, 0.83-0.87), whereas black patients demonstrated statistically worse survival rates (HR=1.091; 95% CI, 1.072-1.109). Within the bronchioalveolar carcinoma subtype, Hispanic patients tend to be overrepresented (8.1% Hispanics vs. 5.5% non-Hispanic whites vs. 3.7% blacks; P<.001).
The researchers said the study results could be attributed as evidence of the “Hispanic paradox” in which Hispanics — despite negative socioeconomic factors such as higher poverty rates and reduced access to health care — tend to have more favorable outcomes after being diagnosed with certain diseases, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.
“Our findings will motivate researchers and physicians to understand why Hispanics have more favorable outcomes and may shed light on potential environmental factors and/or genetic factors that can explain our observations,” Saeed said in a press release. “For instance, the fact that Hispanics developed higher frequencies of bronchioalveolar carcinoma could be due to genetic predispositions and/or their lower smoking rates.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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