Houston — Black patients presented with the highest rates of de novo muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) at the VA, a new study has found.
“However, in a large, equal-access healthcare system, this did not result in a difference in BCa-specific mortality,” according to researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Durham, NC, VA Healthcare System and colleagues. “In contrast, Hispanic patients had lower risks of MIBC and BCa-specific mortality.”
Their report in BJU International described patient characteristics and pathological stage at bladder cancer (BCa) diagnosis in a diverse population within the VHA, a national, equal-access healthcare system.1
For the retrospective cohort study, the study team identified 15,966 men diagnosed with BCa in the VA healthcare system from 2000 to 2020. Considered, the primary outcome was pathological stage at diagnosis, determined by index transurethral resection of bladder tumor.
Most of the patients, 81%, were white, with 11% Black, 3% Hispanic and 6% other race. “Black patients had significantly higher muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) rates than White patients (35% vs. 32%; P = 0.009),” the authors pointed out. “In multivariable analysis, the odds of presenting with MIBC did not differ significantly between Black and white patients (odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98-1.22) or between Hispanic patients (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.67-1.01) and white patients. Compared to white patients, Black patients had a similar risk of BCa-specific mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.89, 95% CI 0.75-1.06), whereas Hispanic patients had a lower risk (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.38-0.82).”
- Bree KK, Janes JL, Hensley PJ, Srinivasan A, De Hoedt AM, Das S, Freedland SJ, Williams SB. Racial disparities in stage at bladder cancer diagnosis in the US Veterans Affairs healthcare system. BJU Int. 2024 Apr 29. doi: 10.1111/bju.16380. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38680113.