[Socioeconomic status and survival in multiple myeloma]

In order to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and survival in multiple myeloma, a group of 121 patients, followed from first diagnosis to their demise, was subdivided into three social classes: high, medium, and low. Social class subdivision was performed taking into account the degree of education, occupation, and income. Significant differences (p less than 0.05) exist regarding mean survivals, survival curves, clinical stages, and responses to therapy between the three considered classes. A low socioeconomic status is associated with shorter survival, higher frequence in poor clinical stage, and less percentage of positive responses to chemotherapy. In conclusion, the socioeconomic status is an important prognostic factor in patients with multiple myeloma, to be considered with other clinical and laboratory data.