Ethnic disparities in renal cell carcinoma: An analysis of Hispanic patients in a single-payer healthcare system

Objective: To investigate differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites diagnosed with and treated for renal cell carcinoma in an equal access healthcare system. Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study within the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system using records from renal cell carcinoma cases. Ethnicity was identified as Hispanic or non-Hispanic whites. Patient characteristics, comorbidities, tumor characteristics and treatment were compared. Overall and disease-specific survival was calculated, and a Cox proportion hazard model estimated the association of ethnicity and survival. Results: A total of 2577 patients (2152 non-Hispanic whites, 425 Hispanic) were evaluated. Hispanics were diagnosed at a younger age (59.6 years vs 65.3 years). Clear cell renal cell carcinoma was more prevalent, whereas papillary renal cell carcinoma was less common among Hispanics. Hispanics had a lower American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (I/II vs III/IV) than non-Hispanic whites (67.4% vs 62.2%). Hispanics were found to have a greater frequency of comorbidities, such as chronic kidney disease and diabetes, but were more likely to receive surgery. The presence of metastases, nodal involvement, increased tumor size, non-surgical management, increasing age and Hispanic ethnicity were independent predictors of worse cancer-specific outcome. Conclusions: Within an equal access healthcare system, Hispanics seem to be diagnosed at younger ages, to have greater comorbidities and to present more frequently with clear cell renal cell carcinoma compared with non-Hispanic white patients. Despite lower stage and greater receipt of surgery, Hispanic ethnicity seems to be an independent predictor of mortality. Further work is necessary to confirm these findings.