Racial and ethnic disparities in risk and survival in children with neuroblastoma: An updated analysis.
Authors: Pudela Caileigh , Applebaum Mark A. , Lee Sang Mee , Naranjo Arlene , Park Julie R. , Volchenboum Samuel Louis , Henderson Tara O. , Cohn Susan Lerner , Desai Ami Vijay 
Published: June 2021

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Background: Biologic and socioeconomic factors contribute to health disparities among patients with pediatric cancer. In an analysis of Children’s Oncology Group (COG) neuroblastoma (NBL) patients (pts) diagnosed between 2001-2009, non-Hispanic Black (Black) pts were previously shown to have a higher prevalence of high-risk disease and worse event-free survival (EFS) compared to non-Hispanic White (White) pts. Here, we analyzed data in the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Data Commons (INRGdc) to validate these findings. Methods: Three-year EFS and overall survival (OS) of COG pts diagnosed between 2001-2009 (Cohort 1; n = 4,358) and 2010-2016 (Cohort 2; n = 3,689) in the INRGdc with known race and ethnicity were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate differences in EFS and OS between racial/ethnic groups. The association of clinical characteristics and tumor biomarkers with racial/ethnic groups were analyzed using Chi-square tests. Results: The distribution of race/ethnicity for pts in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 was as follows, respectively: White: 72% (n = 3,136) and 70% (n = 2,575); Black: 11.4% (n = 495) and 10.7% (n = 397); Hispanic: 12.2% (n = 532) and 14.1% (n = 522); Asian and Hawaiian: 4% (n = 178) and 4.6% (n = 172); Native American: 0.4% (n = 17) and 0.6% (n = 23). In both cohorts, a higher proportion of Black pts had INSS stage 4 disease, age ≥ 18mo, and unfavorable histology tumors when compared to White pts (Cohort 1: p = 0.003; p < 0.001; p < 0.001, respectively vs Cohort 2: p = 0.014; p < 0.001; p < 0.001, respectively). No significant differences in the proportion of pts with MYCN amplified or diploid tumors were detected between Black and White pts in either cohort. Black pts had a higher prevalence of high-risk disease compared to White pts in both Cohorts 1 and 2 (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Among all pts in Cohort 1, EFS was 73% and OS was 83%. In Cohort 1, Black pts had worse EFS (68% vs 73%; HR = 1.31, 95%CI 1.11-1.55, p = 0.002) and OS (78% vs 84%; HR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.16-1.70, p = 0.001) compared to White pts. Among all pts in Cohort 2, EFS was 81% and OS was 88%. Black pts in Cohort 2 also had worse EFS compared to White pts (76% vs 82%; HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.03-1.76, p = 0.027), although no significant difference in OS was observed (p = 0.21). In analyses restricted to high-risk pts, no statistically significant difference in EFS and OS in Black vs White pts was detected in either cohort. Conclusions: In the modern treatment era, Black NBL pts continue to have a higher prevalence of high-risk disease and inferior 3-year EFS compared to White pts. The lack of significant difference in survival among high-risk NBL pts by race suggests that Black and White pts are receiving comparable treatments and responding similarly. The socioeconomic and/or genomic factors contributing to the higher proportion of Black pts with high-risk disease requires further investigation.