Racial and geographic disparities exist in leukemia incidence and mortality in Florida, where leukemia incidence is highest in the US, according to a study published in Blood Neoplasia. Justin Taylor, MD, and colleagues used the Florida Cancer Data System and the US census to examine socioeconomic and regional disparities associated with adult leukemia, finding disparities by race/ethnicity and rurality. Th e highest incidence rates for most subtypes were in non-Hispanic Whites, while non-Hispanic Blacks had the highest odds of dying from leukemia. Higher odds of leukemia-related mortality were also seen among rural counties and urban neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status. Th ere was a mismatch between leukemia-treating physicians and locations where patients with leukemia had higher incidence and mortality odds. “Florida demographically looks like what the entire US population may be in the future and is, therefore, an indicator of the coming needs in the US for increased leukemia diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship care,” Dr. Taylor and colleagues write.
