Disparities in Care and Outcomes in the African American Population

African Americans Have Had a Smaller Improvement in Survival Compared With Whites²

Data from one study demonstrate that community-dwelling older African Americans had 4 times the risk of dying from multiple myeloma compared to Whites.³* This disparity in survival may be due to the lack of access to the same therapies as Whites.²

*All other factors controlled.³

According to guidelines outlined by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the general newly diagnosed multiple myeloma population should receive the standard of care and have their patient eligibility be based on age, frailty, the ability to tolerate, and other factors.⁵

While African Americans experience disparities in stem cell transplant treatment for multiple myeloma and are underrepresented in clinical trials, studies have found that African Americans who gain access to treatment and trials have similar overall survival and progression-free survival.^2,8

After stem cell transplant, African Americans achieved similar outcomes as Whites

A large, single-institution retrospective study of stem cell transplant in 453 patients included 174 African American and 279 White patients and showed that while African American patients experienced a delay in time from diagnosis to transplantation, they still had similar overall survival and progression-free survival rates to White patients.⁹

African Americans enrolled in trials do as well as Whites

An analysis of patient-level data from 9 ECOG-ACRIN/SWOG clinical trials in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients (N=3026) examined clinical trial outcomes by race. No significant differences in overall survival by race in patients who participated in clinical trials were seen.⁸