Premium
Ethnic differences in survival among women with ovarian carcinoma
Author(s) -
BarnholtzSloan Jill S.,
Tainsky Michael A.,
Abrams Judith,
Severson Richard K.,
Qureshi Faisal,
Jacques Suzanne M.,
Levin Nancy,
Schwartz Ann G.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.10415
Subject(s) - medicine , epidemiology , ovarian carcinoma , demography , proportional hazards model , ethnic group , ovarian cancer , gynecology , population , incidence (geometry) , odds ratio , cancer , oncology , physics , environmental health , sociology , anthropology , optics
BACKGROUND Ovarian carcinoma is the leading cause of death among all female reproductive malignancies. There are substantial differences in age‐adjusted incidence rates and survival rates between Caucasian women and African‐American women. The objective of this study was to examine ethnic differences in survival after ovarian carcinoma in a population‐based sample of women. METHODS Thirteen thousand eighty‐three patients (12285 Caucasian women and 798 African‐American women) who were diagnosed with primary ovarian carcinoma from the population‐based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program were used for analysis. Odds ratios were used to estimate the association between prognostic variables and ethnicity. Chi‐square tests were used to determine the statistical significance of these associations (using two‐sided P values). Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess survival differences. RESULTS African‐American women were significantly younger at the time of diagnosis, were more likely to be single, and were less likely to undergo site specific surgery compared with Caucasian women. In addition, the crude median survival for African‐American women was nearly 1 year less than for Caucasian women (22 months vs. 32 months, respectively; P < 0.0001). African‐American women were at a 30% increased risk of death from any cause when adjusting for all other prognostic variables that differed between the two ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS African‐American women who are diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma are at a significant increased risk of death from any cause compared with Caucasian women who are diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma. Cancer 2002;94:1886–93. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10415