WEDNESDAY, May 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Sociodemographic differences persist in utilization of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (autoHCT) for multiple myeloma, according to a study published in the April issue of Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia.

Naseem S. Esteghamat, M.,D., from the University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in Sacramento, and colleagues examined autoHCT utilization in a population-based multiple myeloma cohort (29,109 patients). Factors associated with autoHCT were examined in stratified multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models.

The researchers found that from 1991-1995 to 2011-2016, there was an increase in the frequency of multiple myeloma patients who received autoHCT, from 5.7 to 27.4 percent. Patients with public/no versus private health insurance were less likely to receive autoHCT (hazard ratios, 0.70, 0.81, and 0.56 for Medicare, Medicaid, and no insurance, respectively, in 2011 to 2016). In each treatment era, the likelihood of receiving autoHCT was lower for Black/African American versus non-Hispanic White patients (2011 to 2016: hazard ratio, 0.82). Hispanic patients were less likely to undergo autoHCT, especially in the earliest treatment era (hazard ratio, 0.58 for 1991 to 1995). The likelihood of utilizing autoHCT was lower for patients in lower socioeconomic-status neighborhoods, but over time, differences declined.

“Further investigation into these disparities is warranted, to elucidate the causal factors and how they may be addressed and rectified,” the authors write. “This will bring attention to these disparities and identify potential barriers to autoHCT, with the goal of more equitable access for all transplant-eligible patients with multiple myeloma.”

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