Racial/ethnic Disparities and Survival in Pediatrics with Gliomas Based on the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Database in the United States.

BACKGROUND Gliomas are the most common type of primary central nervous system tumor for both children and adults. But the influence of racial/ethnic disparities on the survival of children with gliomas has not been fully evaluated yet. METHODS Baseline characteristics of patients, including gender, year of diagnosis, surgery, grade, radiation, histology and races, were collected. Univariate and multivariate analysis for overall survival (OS) were performed using Cox proportional hazards regression model. Survival curves were plotted using Kaplan-Meier methods. RESULTS A total of 4400 childhood patients were enrolled, including 2516 non-Hispanic whites (NHW), 1050 Hispanic whites (HW), 519 Blacks, 282 Asian or Pacific Islanders (API), and 33 American Indian/Alaska Natives (AIAN). NHW had the longest overall survival (OS) while Black had the shortest OS (p=0.003). Stratified by histologic type, OS of children with astrocytoma was better among NHW and HW than among Black and API (p=0.004). OS of children with ependymoma was better among NHW and API than among HW and Black (p=0.008). But no significant difference was observed in OS for children with medulloblastoma (p=0.854). CONCLUSION Survival outcomes varied significantly by race/ethnicity among childhood gliomas. Better management of childhood gliomas is warranted to close the survival gap between race/ethnicity.