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Disparities in Stage at Diagnosis among Hispanic Patients with Gastric Cancer in the United States
by
,
Antoine Jeri-Yabar
1,*
,
Liliana Vittini-Hernandez
1,
Renzo Aller-Rojas
2,
Francisco Arias-Reyes
2 and
Sirish Dharmapuri
3 1
Department of Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Morningside/West, New York, NY 10023, USA
2
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, McAllen, TX 78503, USA
3
Department of Hematology/Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai West, New York, NY 10023, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cancers 2024, 16(19), 3308; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16193308
Submission received: 25 July 2024
/
Revised: 5 September 2024
/
Accepted: 24 September 2024
/
Published: 27 September 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Cancer Causes, Screening and Diagnosis)
Simple Summary
This study investigates racial disparities in the stage of gastric cancer at diagnosis and overall survival among different racial groups using data from the SEER database (2018–2021). The retrospective cohort study of 18,984 patients found that Hispanics are 19% more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage of gastric cancer compared to non-Hispanics. Additionally, both Hispanics and Black patients showed poorer overall survival compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. The disparities are attributed to factors such as healthcare access, insurance coverage, language barriers, and preventive health service utilization. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address these disparities in cancer outcomes.
Abstract
Introduction: Racial disparities in gastric cancer outcomes, including stage at diagnosis and overall survival, continue to affect Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations. This study aims to evaluate these disparities across different racial groups. Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using SEER data from 2018 to 2021, including 18,984 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer. Patients were selected based on ICD-O-3 codes for “stomach” with malignant behavior. Using ordered logistic regression, the association between race and stage at diagnosis was analyzed, while Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess OS and CSS. Results: Hispanic patients were significantly more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage compared to non-Hispanic patients (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.10–1.28). Both Hispanic and Black patients had worse OS compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (HR 1.10 CI 1.03–1.17, p = 0.003 and HR 1.13 CI 1.04–1.22, p = 0.002, respectively) as well as CSS. Conclusions: Hispanic patients are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage gastric cancer and have poorer survival outcomes compared to non-Hispanic Whites. These disparities may be linked to differences in healthcare access, insurance, language barriers, and preventive care utilization.
Keywords:
cancer disparities; gastric cancer; disparities; Hispanic
