The impact of race/ethnicity on outcomes in patients with follicular lymphoma in the United States: A nationwide analysis.

e19061 Background: Evidence in Racial/Ethnic (RE) disparities in Follicular Lymphoma (FL) has been limited to certain number of RE groups, and others included all ethnicities but explored inpatient and outpatient populations without differentiating among them. The goal of our study is to describe the impact of RE on the outcomes of patients with FL among hospitalized patients in the US. Hospitalization rates for patients with follicular lymphoma are relatively high, ranging from approximately 38.1% for first-line therapies to over 50% for fifth-line therapies. Methods: The National Inpatient Sample database from 2016 to 2021 was used to identify hospitalized patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). Patients were categorized into White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and Other. Racial disparities were analyzed, with White patients serving as the reference group, to assess their impact on FL-related outcomes. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Multivariate analysis based on RE and risk factors for mortality was done. Results: 2,830 patients were included. 74.70% were White,12.20% Hispanic, 6.90% Black, 2.47% Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.36% Native American, and 3.38% classified as Other. Multivariable analysis revealed no significant differences in in-hospital mortality based on RE. However, Hispanic patients had a significantly longer length of stay (LOS) (1.24 days, P<0.01) and higher total hospital charges (THC) ($34,307.29, P<0.01). Asian/Pacific Islander patients had increased odds of secondary gastrointestinal metastases (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.55, P=0.04). Black patients had higher odds of Stroke (aOR 2.13, P=0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed across racial groups for secondary non-gastrointestinal metastases, tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), septic shock, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, cardiovascular, or receipt of blood products. Conclusions: Our study adds new information on no significant differences in in-hospital mortality among different RE groups, which has not been reported previously only for the inpatient population. Asian/Pacific Islander patients were found to have more frequency of secondary gastrointestinal metastases. Hispanic patients had longer hospital stays and consequently higher total hospital charges. Black patients had higher odds of Stroke. A limitation of our study is that we focused on hospitalized patients.