Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer among Hispanic Women Living in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis

Introduction. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer in the United States. There is limited data on presentation and outcomes among Hispanic women with ovarian cancer. Objective. To investigate how ovarian cancer presents among Hispanic women in the USA and to analyze differences in presentation, staging, and survival between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women with ovarian cancer. Methods. Data from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2004 were extracted from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Results. The study sample comprised 1215 Hispanics (10%), 10 652 non-Hispanic whites (83%), and 905 non-Hispanic blacks (7%). Hispanic women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer at a younger age and earlier stage when compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks; P < 0.001. Similar proportion of Hispanics (33%), non-Hispanic whites (32%), and non-Hispanic blacks (24%) underwent lymphadenectomy; P < 0.001. Hispanics with epithelial ovarian cancer histology had longer five-year survival of 30.6 months compared to non-Hispanic whites (22.8 months) and non-Hispanic blacks (23.3 months); P = 0.001. Conclusion. Hispanic women with ovarian cancer have a statistically significantly longer median survival compared to whites and blacks. This survival difference was most apparent in patients with epithelial cancers and patients with stage IV disease.