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Background: Although Black Americans have 2-3 times multiple myeloma (MM) incidence and mortality as compared to Whites, increasingly research is demonstrating that many may have genetic characteristics that have better survival outcomes. Yet delayed diagnoses and inappropriate first lines of therapy often wipe out whatever “advantages” they may have had, keeping mortality statistics higher than would be expected (PMID: 25469920). For underserved populations, a number of commonly accepted disparities exist in myeloma, and more broadly, cancer care. Patients who receive treatment by a high-volume provider (myeloma specialist) is a factor that can help patients with MM to have a longer life expectancy (PMID: 31487686). Therefore, we analyzed whether there is a disparity between race and receiving care from a myeloma specialist which may contribute to the differences in survival that is being seen. Methods: Validated real-world (RW) MM patient data was collected through HealthTree Cure Hub for Multiple Myeloma (healthtree.org). We examined the patient’s race which was either Caucasian American or Black American and whether or not they were being treated by a myeloma specialist. The association between race and specialist was examined by a chi-squared (X2) test. Results: In this retrospective analysis of 2,871 MM patients, we compared Caucasian Americans (n= 2716) and Black Americans (n=155). Our analysis revealed a significant association between the two races and whether or not they had a myeloma specialist, X2(1, N = 2,871) = 5.85, p = 0.015. Black Americans were less likely to be treated by a myeloma specialist. Conclusion: The findings of this RW analysis identify a glaring disparity in Black American MM patients and receiving care from a myeloma specialist. Addressing the underlying cause of the findings could extinguish other MM-related issues, such as delays in getting a correct diagnosis, lack of access to myeloma specialists, and many other non-medical issues leading to less-than-optimal outcomes from the majority of these Black American patients. Citation Format: Christian S. Cheung, Nathan W. Sweeney, Zena M. Tiu, Cynthia Chmielewski, Jennifer M. Ahlstrom. Comparison of multiple myeloma provider for Black Americans and Caucasian Americans [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 6287. |
