Rectal cancer disparities in a large, diverse health system in New York.

Abstract

16 Background: The disproportionate burden of colorectal cancer among African American (AA) patients is striking, with 40% increase relative risk of death compared to non-AA White population (Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 2022). NAPRC aims to ensure equitable delivery of evidence-based treatment to ensure optimal outcomes for all patients. Our study investigated whether care delivery outcomes differed for AA patients in our NAPRC cohort of patients, and explored the reasons associated with the disparities. Methods: Rectal cancer patients were identified by pooling 2019 to 2022 data from NAPRC coordinators from 4 regional sites under Northwell Health, spread across a large geographical area in NY: Westchester and Phelps (Northern), Lenox Hill (Western), NSUH/LIJ (Central), and Huntington (Eastern). The primary outcome was time from biopsy (Bx) to treatment (Tx) initiation, where Tx was rectal cancer resection, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy. The secondary outcome was time from tumor board (TB) to first Tx. Social deprivation index (SDI) is a composite measure of 7 demographic characteristics collected in the American Community Survey (ACS) matched with zip codes of patients. SDI and the deprivation severity have a positive and linear correlation. Results: We collected data on 381 patients; 337 had documented race data: 42 AA and 295 non-AA (includes White, Asians and others). AA, compared to non-AA, patients had significantly longer median time from Bx to Tx in Western (66 vs 42 days, p<0.01) and Central (56 vs 41 days, p= 0.03) regions. AA patients also had higher time from TB to Tx in the Western (29 vs 17 days, p=0.01) and Central (26 vs 19 days, p= 0.05) regions, respectively. Longer time to treatment was associated with: AA patients, Medicare patients, and patients requiring social work assistance. SDI is positively correlated with time from Bx to Tx (p<0.01) and time from TB to Tx (p<0.01). Conclusions: There are significant disparities between AA vs Non-AA in both primary and secondary outcomes. These findings highlight the need for further exploration such as interviewing social workers and developing patient surveys to explore why the care disparities in AA population is more significant in certain regions than others. We need to account for race and social barriers in treating cancer patients. Taking a proactive approach by sending social work referrals for all AA patients may be a potential solution for these marginalized patients.