A study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2016 found African American patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma had a 33 percent increased risk of death compared to non-Hispanic white patients, Medical Xpress reported.
The researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of 999 patients diagnosed with HCC at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/Jackson (Fla.) Memorial Hospitals between 2005 and 2014. The patient population at these centers is 14.7 percent African American, 34.9 percent Hispanic and approximately 50 percent born outside North America.
Patricia D. Jones, assistant professor of medicine at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, lead the study.
Here are five points:
1. The median survival after diagnosis was 301 days for African American patients, compared to 437 days for Hispanic patients and 534.5 days for non-Hispanic white patients.
2. After adjusting for factors such as alcohol use, tobacco use, insurance and age at diagnosis, non-Hispanic white patients had a 25 percent reduced risk of death and Hispanics had a 21 percent reduced risk of death compared to African American patients' 33 percent .
3. Researchers also found African American patients were more likely to have hepatitis B.
4. Overall, the team found liver transplants were associated with a 66 percent reduction in deaths, but only 11.9 percent of African American patients received a transplant, compared to 33.3 percent of non-Hispanic white patients.
5. Dr. Jones and her colleagues are conducting additional research to determine which factors contribute to the lower-survival rate in African American patients, such as access to care, birthplace, socio-economic status and increased prevalence of viral hepatitis.