RESUMEN
Background: Black patients have a higher incidence and mortality associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with that of White patients in many retrospective analyses. This study sought to determine whether veterans treated for HCC at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Tennessee showed similar disparities in terms of stage at diagnosis, type of therapy received, and overall survival (OS). Methods: A retrospective review evaluated 132 White and 95 Black patients treated for HCC between 2009 and 2021. We evaluated the impact on OS of age, sex, comorbidities, tumor stage, α-fetoprotein level, method of diagnosis, first-line treatment, systemic treatment, and surgical options offered. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to investigate differences in OS and cumulative hazard ratio for death. Cox regression multivariate analysis evaluated discrepancies among investigated variables. Results: The study found no significant difference in OS between Black and White veterans with HCC. Significant differences were found in who received surgical treatment and systemic therapy. More White veterans received any form of treatment compared with Black veterans (P < .001), and White veterans were more likely to undergo surgical resection and transplant (P = .052). There was no significant difference between age or stage at diagnosis, receipt of systemic therapy, alcohol, tobacco or drug use, HIV coinfection, or cirrhosis. Conclusions: Black veterans with HCC at the Memphis VAMC were less likely to receive any form of treatment, surgical resection, or transplant compared with White veterans, but this did not have a statistically significant effect on OS.
RESUMEN
While the recent development of novel therapeutics in oncology, such as small molecule kinase inhibitors (SMKIs), has enabled our ability to target disease-specific molecular pathways, the prolonged impact of these agents on the immune system and infectious risk remains to be seen. We present a 68-year-old male with refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) on ibrutinib monotherapy for 3 years who developed extensive cutaneous mucormycosis following a severe bullous pemphigoid (BP) flare. He received amphotericin B for 4 weeks and was continued on posaconazole with resolution of his mucormycosis infection. Consistent with a growing evidence of literature identifying opportunistic fungal infections in patients on ibrutinib therapy, providers should be cognizant of medical comorbidities that may predispose to such infections and explore methods of prevention before starting ibrutinib and other SMKIs.