Black and Hispanic Patients and Leukemia

A new study finds that black and Hispanic patients are less likely to develop acute leukemia than Caucasian patients. However, if they do become ill, they are much more likely to die.

Dr. Manili I. Patel, postdoctoral fellow in hematology/oncology at the Stanford Cancer Institute in Stanford, California, said, "We don't know the reason for the disparity, but now that we know it exists we can investigate why it occurs. Like all disparities in cancer, there could be any combination of influences; however, we believe that socioeconomic factors and access to care may be playing an important role."

Researchers studied the medical records of nearly 41,000 patients with acute leukemia between the years of 1998 and 2008, and they found that black patients had a 17% higher risk of dying of acute leukemia than white patients. Hispanic patients had a 12% higher risk.

Acute leukemia presents in two different forms: acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia. The former revealed a much higher difference in mortality. Black and Hispanic patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia had approximately a 45% and 46% higher risk, respectively. The rates for the second form of cancer were similar, though not as high.

Patel said, "These data tell us that the disparity in overall survival in acute leukemia is driven by higher death rates."

Leukemia isn't the first cancer to have a higher risk of mortality in minorities. "This paradox is seen in other solid tumors, such as breast cancer. It occurs less frequently in black women, but mortality rates, stage for stage, are higher. " said Patel. "Now that we have taken the crucial first step to document this disparity in acute leukemia, we need to understand the factors behind it so we can address and correct it.

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