Disparate outcomes in nonsmall cell lung cancer by immigration status

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate overall survival (OS) outcomes by race, stratified by country of origin in patients diagnosed with NSCLC in California. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2012. Race/ethnicity was defined as White (W), Black (B), Hispanic (H), and Asian (A) and stratified by country of origin (US vs. non‐US [NUS]) creating the following patient cohorts: W‐US, W‐NUS, B‐US, B‐NUS, H‐US, H‐NUS, A‐US, and A‐NUS. Three multivariate models were created: model 1 adjusted for age, gender, stage, year of diagnosis and histology; model 2 included model 1 plus treatment modalities; and model 3 included model 2 with the addition of socioeconomic status, marital status, and insurance. RESULTS: A total of 68,232 patients were included. Median OS from highest to lowest were: A‐NUS (15 months), W‐NUS (14 months), A‐US (13 months), B‐NUS (13 months), H‐US (11 months), W‐US (11 months), H‐NUS (10 months), and B‐US (10 months) (p < 0.001). In model 1, B‐US had worse OS, whereas A‐US, W‐NUS, B‐NUS, H‐NUS, and A‐NUS had better OS when compared to W‐US. In model 2 after adjusting for receipt of treatment, there was no difference in OS for B‐US when compared to W‐US. After adjusting for all variables (model 3), all race/ethnicity profiles had better OS when compared to W‐US; B‐NUS patients had similar OS to W‐US. CONCLUSION: Foreign‐born patients with NSCLC have decreased risk of mortality when compared to native‐born patients in California after accounting for treatments received and socioeconomic differences.