African American vs. Caucasian race/ethnicity in adrenocortical carcinoma patients.

Abstract

In some primaries African American race/ethnicity predisposes to higher stage and worse survival. We tested for differences in cancer specific mortality (CSM) and other-cause mortality (OCM) in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) according to African American vs. Caucasian race/ethnicity. We hypothesized that African Americans present with higher tumor stage and grade, do not receive the same treatment and benefit of lower survival than Caucasians. Within Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we identified 1016 ACC patients: 123 (12.1%) African Americans vs. 893 (87.9%) Caucasians. Propensity score matching (age, sex, marital status, grade, T, N and M stages, treatment type), cumulative incidence plots Poisson-smoothing and competing risk regression (CRR) were used. Compared to Caucasians, African Americans were more frequently unmarried (56.9% vs. 35.5%, p < 0.001). No clinically meaningful or statistically significant differences were observed for age, grade, T, N, and M stages, as well as for treatment type (all p > 0.05). After propensity score matching (1:4), 123 African Americans and 492 Caucasians remained and were included in CRR analysis. In multivariable CRR models, CSM and OCM rates were not different between the two race/ethnicities (hazard ratio: 0.84, p = 0.3). In African Americans five-year CSM rates were 31.2% and 75.3% in respectively European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors (ENSAT) stages I-II and III-IV vs. 32.9% and 75.4% in Caucasians. Overall five-year OCM rates were 11.0% vs. 10.1% in respectively African Americans and Caucasians. Unlike other primaries, in ACC African American race/ethnicity is not associated with higher disease stage at initial diagnosis or worse survival.