Health Disparities Experienced by Hispanic Americans with Multiple Myeloma: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Health disparities in multiple myeloma (MM) disproportionately affect minorities. Characterization of health disparities encountered by Hispanic Americans with MM is necessary to identify gaps and inform future strategies to eliminate them. We performed a systematic review of publications that described health disparities relevant to Hispanic Americans with MM through December 2021. We included all original studies which compared incidence, treatment, and/or outcomes of Hispanic Americans with other ethnic groups. Eight hundred and sixty-eight articles were identified of which 22 original study articles were included in our systematic review. The number of publications varied over time with the highest number of studies (32%) published in 2021. Most of the published studies (59%) reported worse outcomes for Hispanic Americans with MM compared to other ethnic groups. There is growing evidence that Hispanic Americans with MM are facing a multitude of disparities that require immediate attention and solutions.