Endometrial cancer survival in populations of African descent

Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Nov 4;193(11):1564-1575. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae086.

Abstract

To examine whether the endometrial cancer (EC) survival disadvantage among Black populations is US-specific, a comparison between African-descent populations from different countries with a high development index is warranted. We analyzed 28 213 EC cases from cancer registries in Florida (2005-2018) and the French Caribbean islands of Martinique (2005-2018) and Guadeloupe (2008-2018) combined. Kaplan-Meier and all-cause Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare survival. Models were stratified by EC histology type and the main predictor examined was race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White [NHW] and no-Hispanic Black [NHB] women in the United States versus Black women residing in the Caribbean). For endometrioid and nonendometrioid EC, after adjusting for age, histology, stage at diagnosis, receipt of surgery, period of diagnosis, and poverty level, US NHB women and Caribbean Black women had a higher risk of death relative to US NHW women. There was no difference between US NHB and Caribbean Black women (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.07; 95% CI, 0.88-1.30) with endometrioid EC. However, Caribbean Black women with nonendometrioid carcinomas had a 40% higher risk of death (HR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.13-1.74) than US NHB women. The low EC survival among US Black women extends to foreign populations of African descent. For the aggressive nonendometrioid ECs, survival among Caribbean Black women outside of the United States is considerably worse. This article is part of a Special Collection on Gynecological Cancers.

Keywords: African descent; Black; Caribbean; endometrial cancer; endometroid; nonendometrioid; registry; survival.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Black People / statistics & numerical data
  • Black or African American / statistics & numerical data
  • Carcinoma, Endometrioid / ethnology
  • Carcinoma, Endometrioid / mortality
  • Carcinoma, Endometrioid / pathology
  • Caribbean People / statistics & numerical data
  • Caribbean Region / ethnology
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / ethnology
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Female
  • Florida / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Middle Aged
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Registries
  • United States / epidemiology
  • White / statistics & numerical data