Survival Variability by Race and Ethnicity in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Context: The role of race/ethnicity in survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unclear, with some studies reporting poorer survival among minority children and others reporting equivalent survival across race/ethnicity in the modern, risk-stratified treatment era. Objective: To investigate the relation between race/ethnicity and survival in a large, population-based analysis of incident ALL cases in the United States. Design, Population, and Setting: This study included 4952 individuals diagnosed with ALL between 1973 and 1999 at age 19 years or younger. ALL cases were identified from 9 population-based registries of the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. Main Outcome Measures: Survival probabilities were compared among white, black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native children. Kaplan-Meier curves and proportional hazard ratios from Cox regression analysis were calculated, accounting for treatment era (1973-1982, 1983-1989, and 1990-1999), age at diagnosis (<1, 1-9, and 10-19 years), and sex. Results: Although overall 5-year survival probabilities improved with each successive treatment era, differences according to race/ethnicity persisted. For 1990-1999, 5-year survival was 84% for white children, 81% for Asian/Pacific Islander children, 75% for black children, and 72% for both American Indian/Alaskan Native children and Hispanic children. The largest difference by race/ethnicity was observed among children diagnosed between ages 1 and 9 years. Compared with white children, after adjusting for treatment era, age at diagnosis, and sex, children of black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native descent had hazard ratios of 1.50 (95% CI, 1.0-2.2; P = .03), 1.83 (95% CI, 1.4-2.4; P<.001), and 1.90 (95% CI, 0.8-4.6; P = .16). Conclusions: Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native children with ALL have worse survival than white and Asian/Pacific Isl... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]