Study Analyzes Racial Differences in Treatment and Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Analysis of African American and White patients with multiple myeloma revealed similar treatment patterns for both patient groups, according to a study published in Cancer. These findings suggest that both racial groups had similar, equal access to health care, explained Rafat Abonour, MD, of Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, and colleagues.
“African American patients received standard-of-care treatment, which might have contributed to better multiple myeloma–specific survival compared with White patients,” commented the investigators.
From 2009 to 2016, approximately 3,000 patients with multiple myeloma were recruited for the Connect MM Registry study. The investigators focused their analysis on treatment patterns (including induction therapy, transplantation, and maintenance therapy) and survival outcomes by race (African American vs. White patients).
The study authors reported no differences in first-line treatment pattern effects between African American and White patients. These effects included the type and duration of induction and post-transplantation maintenance. In addition, African American (32%) and White (36%) patients seemed to have similar stem cell transplantation in first-line treatment during first induction. Assessment of the use of triple treatment revealed no differences between African American (44%) and White (48%) patients who had non–stem cell transplantation and African American (72%) and White (72%) patients who had stem cell transplantation during the first induction.
Furthermore, racial differences did not appear to impact survival outcomes in patients who underwent non–stem cell transplantation. However, in patients who received stem cell transplantation, African American patients had significantly longer survival than did White patients (hazard ratio = 0.56).
"Real-world data from population-based studies and claims analyses have uniformly shown significant racial differences in multiple myeloma patterns in terms of stem cell transplantation and the use of novel therapies that mainly are attributable to socioeconomic factors," the authors acknowledged. However, "the current data suggest that African American patients from primarily community settings, such as the Connect MM Registry, are being treated appropriately as per standard of care."
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit acsjournals.com.
