Disparities in receipt of radiotherapy and survival by age, sex and ethnicity among patients with stage I diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Disparities in cancer care have been documented. However, less is known about the disparities in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We reviewed the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database to evaluate disparities in receipt of radiotherapy (RT) and relative survival among patients diagnosed with stage I DLBCL between 1998 and 2008 on the basis of age, sex and ethnicity. African Americans and other races were significantly less likely to receive RT compared to Caucasians (adjusted odds ratio [OR] of 0.743 and 0.81, respectively). Similarly, patients aged 60 + years and males were less likely to receive RT compared to their counterparts (p < 0.001). Caucasian race, younger age and female sex were associated with better survival among patients receiving RT. This study showed that 38.2% of patients with stage I DLBCL received radiotherapy. Survival rates were significantly higher for patients who received RT.