Dr. Lara on Role of Molecular Differences in Disparities in Uterine Serous Carcinoma

Oliva Lara, MD, third-year fellow, Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, discusses the connection between molecular differences and disparities in cancer care in uterine serous carcinomas, as examined in a retrospective cohort study.

In the racial breakdown based on histologic subtype among the entire cohort of tumors examined in the study, Black patients comprised 30% of the population, Lara explains. However, when examining the 3 most common high-risk histologic subtypes of endometrioid, uterine carcinosarcoma, and uterine serious carcinomas, Black patients accounted for a higher proportion of those populations, Lara says.

Specifically in the uterine serous carcinoma cohort, the median age of diagnosis was 69 years. Notably, there were no racial differences observed regarding adjuvant therapies, such as surgery or radiation, Lara adds. Clinically, Black and White patients were receiving the same therapies, Lara notes.

Additionally, Black patients had a 26% mortality rate, compared with 6% in White patients, Lara continues. Mortality rate data did not reach statistical significance due to a small population size, though a large discrepancy remains among different racial groups in terms of which patients are dying due to their disease, Lara concludes.