Sociodemographic factors, such as residential instability, low income, and living in a rural area, negatively affect the odds of a patient with pancreatic cancer undergoing surgical resection, even in a single-payer universal health care system, according to an article published in Cancer.1
Researchers analyzed the treatment implications of sociodemographic status by enrolling 6296 patients, each of whom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2005 and 2010.
Of these patients, 820 underwent surgical resection. Residential instability, material deprivation, low income, and living in a rural area were each associated with a reduced likelihood of undergoing the operation. There was not, however, an association made between sociodemographic factors and receipt of adjuvant therapy.
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The authors concluded that the analyzed sociodemographic factors influenced care early in pancreatic cancer treatment only. Census data were used to determine values for the analyzed factors.
Reference
1. Kagedan DJ, Abraham L, Goyert N, et al. Beyond the dollar: Influence of sociodemographic marginalization on surgical resection, adjuvant therapy, and survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. Cancer. 8 Jul 2016. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30148 [Epub ahead of print]
