Racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric cancer incidence among children and young adults in the United States by single year of age

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Incidence rates of pediatric cancers in the United States are typically reported in 5-year age groups, obscuring variation by single year of age. Additionally, racial and ethnic variation in incidence is typically presented in broad categories rather than by narrow age ranges. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 data (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017) were examined to calculate frequencies and age-adjusted incidence rates among individuals aged birth to 39 years. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated as the measure of association for rate comparisons by race and Hispanic origin overall and by single year of age. RESULTS: Several histologic types showed substantial variation in race/ethnicity-specific and overall rates by single year of age. Overall, Black children and young adults experienced substantially decreased incidence of acute lymphoid leukemia (IRR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.49-0.55) compared to Whites, and this decreased incidence was strongest at ages 1 through 7 years and 16 through 20 years. Hispanic individuals experienced decreased overall incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma (IRR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.48-0.52) and astrocytoma (IRR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.52-0.56) and increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (IRR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.42-1.51) compared to non-Hispanic Whites, and the increased risk was strongest at ages 10 through 23 years. Substantial decreased risk across many tumor types was also observed for Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indian/Alaska Natives. CONCLUSIONS: Examination of incidence rates for pediatric cancers by narrow age groups may provide insights regarding etiological differences in subgroups. Additionally, variation in age-specific incidence rates by race and ethnicity may enable hypothesis generation on drivers of disparities observed.

Race, Zoonoses and Animal Assisted Interventions in Pediatric Cancer

“…Similar differences were found when comparing 12.5-year survival rates [24]. Marcotte found the incidence of leukemias to be higher in White children when compared to both Black and Asian/Pacific Islander children [25].…”

“…Within the pediatric population, regarding racial and ethnic minority children, we found that compared to non-Hispanic White childhood cancer patients, Black and Hispanic patients had worse survival for all cancers combined, leukemias and lymphomas, brain tumors, and solid tumors [21][22][23][24][25].…”

“…Hispanic children have a decreased overall incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma and astrocytoma but experience increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Substantially decreased risk across many tumor types was observed for Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indian/Alaska Natives pediatric cancer patients [3,[21][22][23][24][25].…”

Cancer in children born after frozen-thawed embryo transfer: A cohort study

“…Adjustment for race/ethnicity was not possible since registration on race/ethnicity is not allowed in the Nordic countries. It has been reported that non-white children and young adults might have lower rates of some childhood cancers [ 57 ]. The percentage of mother’s country of birth being outside the Nordic countries was however low and similar in ART and spontaneous conception in an earlier publication from CoNARTaS [ 58 ].…”

An updated assessment of 43,110 patients enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Research Network: A Children's Oncology Group report

“…Epidemiologic studies of childhood cancer often rely on SEER and other state-based cancer registries. [16][17][18] Although these cases are representative of the underlying population, investigations are often limited by the level of information captured by these surveillance programs. For example, detailed treatment histories and refined diagnosis information may not be readily available.…”