TY - JOUR
T1 - Children from ethnic minorities have benefited equally as other children from contemporary therapy for rhabdomyosarcoma
T2 - A report from the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group
AU - Baker, K. Scott
AU - Anderson, James R.
AU - Lobe, Thom E.
AU - Wharam, Moody D.
AU - Qualman, Stephen J.
AU - Raney, R. Beverly
AU - Ruymann, Frederick B.
AU - Womer, Richard B.
AU - Meyer, William H.
AU - Link, Michael P.
AU - Crist, William M.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2002/11/15
Y1 - 2002/11/15
N2 - Purpose: To define the clinical characteristics of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) occurring in children from ethnic minorities and determine whether these children have benefited equally from advances in therapy. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of children treated on the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group protocols between 1984 and 1997. The clinical features and outcomes of 336 African-American children and 286 children from other ethnic minorities were compared with those of white children (n = 1,721). Results: African-American, other ethnic group, and white children enjoyed similar 5-year failure-free survivals (FFS) of 61%, 61%, and 66%, respectively, P = .15. Compared with white children, nonwhite patients more often had (1) invasive, T2 tumors (P = .03); (2) stage 2 or 3 tumors (P = .003); (3) large tumors (more than 5 cm, P < .006); and/or (4) tumors with positive regional nodes (ie, N1, P = .002). Using Cox proportional hazards analysis, seven patient risk categories were defined with significant differences in outcome. This model was then used to search for other factors associated with FFS after adjusting for these risk categories. Only T stage and age remained associated with FFS (P = .001 and P < .001, respectively). After adjusting for T stage, risk category, and age, we explored the relationship of ethnic group to FFS and found that, compared with whites, the relative risk of failure was 1.14 for African-American patients and 1.2 for other ethnic minority patients, values that are not significantly different. Conclusion: Patients from ethnic minority groups more often have larger, invasive tumors with positive lymph nodes. Nevertheless, they have benefited as equally as white children from the dramatic progress in therapy of RMS.
AB - Purpose: To define the clinical characteristics of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) occurring in children from ethnic minorities and determine whether these children have benefited equally from advances in therapy. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of children treated on the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group protocols between 1984 and 1997. The clinical features and outcomes of 336 African-American children and 286 children from other ethnic minorities were compared with those of white children (n = 1,721). Results: African-American, other ethnic group, and white children enjoyed similar 5-year failure-free survivals (FFS) of 61%, 61%, and 66%, respectively, P = .15. Compared with white children, nonwhite patients more often had (1) invasive, T2 tumors (P = .03); (2) stage 2 or 3 tumors (P = .003); (3) large tumors (more than 5 cm, P < .006); and/or (4) tumors with positive regional nodes (ie, N1, P = .002). Using Cox proportional hazards analysis, seven patient risk categories were defined with significant differences in outcome. This model was then used to search for other factors associated with FFS after adjusting for these risk categories. Only T stage and age remained associated with FFS (P = .001 and P < .001, respectively). After adjusting for T stage, risk category, and age, we explored the relationship of ethnic group to FFS and found that, compared with whites, the relative risk of failure was 1.14 for African-American patients and 1.2 for other ethnic minority patients, values that are not significantly different. Conclusion: Patients from ethnic minority groups more often have larger, invasive tumors with positive lymph nodes. Nevertheless, they have benefited as equally as white children from the dramatic progress in therapy of RMS.
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U2 - 10.1200/JCO.2002.11.131
DO - 10.1200/JCO.2002.11.131
M3 - Article
C2 - 12431964
AN - SCOPUS:0037112233
SN - 0732-183X
VL - 20
SP - 4428
EP - 4433
JO - Journal of Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Clinical Oncology
IS - 22
ER -