Racial Disparities in Malignant Primary Brain Tumor Survival in Texas From 1995 to 2013

Background: Differences among the top five races in Texas will be explored to determine if racial, geographic, and healthcare disparities exist in patients undergoing treatment for a primary malignant brain tumor.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Texas Cancer Registry from 1995 to 2013. SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC) and SEER*Stat 8.3.2 (National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD) software were used to analyze death from malignant brain tumors and cause-specific survival. Survival rates were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and Log-Rank tests. Hazard ratios were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results: Median survival was highest among Asians at 92 months (95% CI: 72, 142) and least among Whites at 20 months (95% CI: 19, 21). Patients living in the Upper Gulf Coast region of Texas had the longest survival time at 31 months (95% CI 29-35%), while those patients in the Texas Panhandle had the shortest survival time at 18 months (95% CI 14-23%). Patients with a poverty index of 0-5% had the highest median survival time of 32 months (95% CI 29-35%), as compared to patients with a poverty index of 10-20% who had a median survival of 22 months (95% CI 21-24%).

Conclusions: Ethnic minorities and higher socioeconomic class demonstrated survival advantage. White males had the worst survival of those with primary malignant brain tumors. Other significant factors affecting a patient's survival rate included geographic location, poverty index, sex, and age, thus suggesting a potential genetic and environmental influence.