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  • Title: Association of census tract-level socioeconomic status with disparities in prostate cancer-specific survival.
    Author: Freeman VL, Ricardo AC, Campbell RT, Barrett RE, Warnecke RB.
    Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 2011 Oct; 20(10):2150-9. PubMed ID: 21784953.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Social determinants of prostate cancer survival and their relation to racial/ethnic disparities thereof are poorly understood. We analyzed whether census tract-level socioeconomic status (SES) at diagnosis is a prognostic factor in men with prostate cancer and helps explain racial/ethnic disparities in survival. METHODS: We used a retrospective cohort of 833 African American and white, non-Hispanic men diagnosed with prostate cancer at four Chicago area medical centers between 1986 and 1990. Tract-level concentrated disadvantage (CD), a multidimensional area-based measure of SES, was calculated for each case, using the 1990 U.S. census data. Its association with prostate cancer-specific survival was measured by using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for case and tumor characteristics, treatment, and health care system [private sector vs. Veterans Health Administration (VA)]. RESULTS: Tract-level CD associated with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer (highest vs. lowest quartile, HR = 2.37, P < 0.0001). However, the association was observed in the private sector and not in the VA (per 1 SD increase, HR = 1.33, P < 0.0001 and HR = 0.93, P = 0.46, respectively). The multivariate HR for African Americans before and after accounting for tract-level CD was 1.30 (P = 0.0036) and 0.96 (P = 0.82), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Census tract-level SES is a social determinant of prostate-specific mortality and helps account for racial/ethnic disparities in survival. An equal-access health care system may moderate this association. IMPACT: This study identifies a potential pathway for minimizing disparities in prostate cancer control. The findings need confirmation in a population-based study.
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