Expert Speaks to Disparities in Stem Cell Transplant for Blood Cancers

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Discrepancies in patients with blood cancer who are eligible for but do not undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplant have been observed not only for Black patients, but Hispanic, Asian, and White patients as well, according to Usama Gergis, MD, MBA.

A significant portion of Black patients with hematologic malignancies who are eligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplant do not undergo the procedure, posing a significant challenge, according to Usama Gergis, MD, MBA.

In an interview with CancerNetwork®, Gergis, the director of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at Jefferson Health, detailed not only disparities in stem cell transplant by race and ethnicity, but the significant number of patients who are not receiving treatment overall.

According to data from the Be the Match Registry, 79% of White patients are able to find a match in the stem cell donor registry compared with 29% of Black patients, 47% of Asian/Pacific Islander patients, and 48% of Hispanic/Latino patients.

Transcript:

We can take this as an example of a complex procedure that requires a lot of resources. For allogeneic bone marrow transplant, there is someone who has blood cancer requiring hematopoietic stem cells from a donor. In the United States for all eligible patients, more than half do not get to have this complex procedure—more than half [at] 55%.

In looking at the ethnicity distribution here, there is a stark difference between Caucasians and African Americans. For African Americans, approximately 10% or 11% of patients who are eligible for allogeneic transplant actually get the procedure. The same goes for Hispanic and Asian [patients, as well as] Caucasians patients to a lesser extent. If you take allogeneic, bone marrow transplant, [also known as] stem cell transplant, as an example of a complex procedure, I think that this [challenge is prevalent.]

Reference

How does a patient's ethnic background affect matching? Be the Match. Accessed October 13, 2023. https://bit.ly/3PNjTt6

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