Racial and ethnic characteristics and cancer-specific survival in Primary Malignant Cardiac Tumors

BackgroundThere is limited insight into the epidemiological characteristics and effect of race and ethnicity on Primary Malignant Cardiac Tumors (PMCTs).ObjectivesComparison of clinical characteristics and cancer-specific survival outcomes of major races in the United States from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End-Result (SEER) registry.MethodsICD-O-3 codes were used to identify PMCTs for the years 1975 to 2015. Three major races were identified—“White”, “Black”, and “Asian/Pacific Islander”. Cancer-specific survival outcomes were compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis across and amongst races, based on tumor histology. A subgroup analysis of cancer-specific survival was performed between “Hispanics” and “non-Hispanics.”ResultsSeven hundred and twenty patients were identified−47% females and 79% White, mean age at diagnosis (47 ± 20 years). Black patients were significantly younger (39 ± 18 years) and presented more commonly with angiosarcomas (53%). Non-angiogenic sarcomas and lymphomas were the most common tumors in the White (38%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (34%) cohorts. For a median follow-up period of 50 (IQR3-86) months, cancer-specific survival (mean ± SD, in months) was worse in Blacks (9 ± 3) as compared to Whites (15 ± 1) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14 ± 1) (p-value; Black vs. White