Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer among Hispanic Women Living in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis

. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer in the United States. There is limited data on presentation and outcomes among Hispanic women with ovarian cancer. Objective . To investigate how ovarian cancer presents among Hispanic women in the USA and to analyze differences in presentation, staging, and survival between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women with ovarian cancer. Methods . Data from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2004 were extracted from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Results . The study sample comprised 1215 Hispanics (10%), 10 652 non-Hispanic whites (83%), and 905 non-Hispanic blacks (7%). Hispanic women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer at a younger age and earlier stage when compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks; P < 0.001. Similar proportion of Hispanics (33%), non-Hispanic whites (32%), and non-Hispanic blacks (24%) underwent lymphadenectomy; P < 0.001. Hispanics with epithelial ovarian cancer histology had longer five-year survival of 30.6 months compared to non-Hispanic whites (22.8 months) and non-Hispanic blacks (23.3 months); P  =  0.001. Conclusion . Hispanic women with ovarian cancer have a statistically significantly longer median survival compared to whites and blacks. This survival difference was most apparent in patients with epithelial cancers and patients with stage IV disease.