Disparities by race, age, and sex in the improvement of survival for lymphoma: Findings from a population-based study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate improvement in survival of lymphoma patients from 1990 to 2014, stratified by age, sex and race using Surveillance Epidemiology and End-Result Survey Program (SEER) data. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We identified 113,788 incident lymphoma cases from nine SEER cancer registries were followed up for cause-specific mortality from lymphoma. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and their respective 95% confidence interval (CIs) for various time periods within groups stratified by race, age and sex. RESULTS: Five-year survival for Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) was 89% for patients 20–49 years of age. For this age group, compared to 1990–1994, survival significantly improved in 2000–2004 (HR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.54–0.78), 2005–2009 (HR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.38–0.57) and 2010–2014 (HR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.20–0.41). Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients aged 75–85 years had 5-year survival of 37% and in these patients, compared to 1990-1994, survival only improved from 2005 onward (HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.50–0.90). In patients with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), all age groups showed survival improvements between 1990–1994 period and 2010–2014 period. Improvements in HL and NHL survival were seen for all race categories and both genders. CONCLUSION: Survival among US lymphoma patients has improved substantially between 1990–1994 period and 2010–2014 period, though disease-specific mortality was still higher in older age groups.