Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in treatment outcomes in patients (pts) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL): A U.S. real-world study using a de-identified electronic health record (EHR)-derived database.
Authors: Jin Yanling , Li Jia , Mun Yong , Masaquel Anthony , Hu Sylvia , Biondo Juliana M. L. , Huntington Scott F. 
Published: June 2021

e18514

Background: DLBCL, an aggressive disease, is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Few studies have addressed socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in treatment patterns and health outcomes for pts with DLBCL. We present a retrospective cohort study, leveraging real-world data from a nationwide database, to investigate these disparities. Methods: Pts with DLBCL treated with first-line (1L) therapy within 90 days of diagnosis were selected from the nationwide Flatiron Health EHR-derived de-identified database from January 2011 to May 2020. During the study, the de-identified data originated from approximately 280 US cancer clinics (̃800 sites of care). Pts’ baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, overall survival (OS), time to next therapy or death to any cause (TTNTD) were compared between race groups (non-Hispanic White [W], non-Hispanic African American [AA], Hispanic or Latino [H], non-Hispanic Asian [A]) and socioeconomic groups (Medicaid without Commercial [Medicaid] vs Commercial without Medicaid [Commercial]). Baseline characteristics were compared using Fisher’s exact, chi-squared or t-tests. Time to event endpoints were compared using Cox models adjusting baseline characteristics. Results: In total, 4,648 pts with DLBCL (82% W, 7% AA, 8% H, 3% A) were included. Compared with other race groups, W pts were older (mean age: 67 vs 60, 62, 62 [W vs AA, H, A]), had a higher proportion of pts with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score ≥2 (8% vs 5%, 4%, 4%), and fewer pts with Medicaid insurance (1.7% vs 5%, 6%, 3%). Across race groups, 1L treatments received were similar; 82% had R-CHOP. There were no significant differences in OS (P = 0.278; HR [AA, H, A vs W]: 0.87, 0.85, 0.84) and TTNTD (P = 0.158; HR: 0.89, 0.88, 1.19). There were statistically significant differences in time from diagnosis to treatment (P < 0.0001; HR: 0.83, 0.79, 1.12), although the magnitude of the median differences were relatively small (22, 24, 25, 19 days [W, AA, H, A]). In pts aged < 65, commercially insured pts had less advanced disease (Group Stage IV: 28% vs 59%), better OS (HR [95% CI]: 0.50 [0.31–0.81], P = 0.005) and later TTNTD (HR: 0.70 [0.48–1.03], P = 0.067) compared with Medicaid insured pts. In pts aged ≥65, commercially insured pts had similar disease stage, OS (HR: 1.09 [0.65–1.84], P = 0.756) and TTNTD (HR: 0.94 [0.61–1.44], P = 0.763) compared with Medicaid insured pts. Insurance was not a significant factor for time from diagnosis to treatment for pts aged < 65 (HR: 1.05 [0.80–1.37], P = 0.727) and ≥65 (HR: 1.05 [0.78–1.42], P = 0.742). Conclusions: In this analysis of over 4,500 pts with DLBCL treated in the real-world, access to commercial insurance was associated with health outcomes in pts under 65 years of age, possibly due to earlier diagnosis; race was not a significant factor.