Socioeconomic Factors Affect Outcomes in Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Socioeconomic status (SES) is a known determinant of cancer incidence.
• The impact of SES on well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) outcomes remains under-explored.
• Understanding SES-outcome associations is crucial for equitable cancer care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and outcomes in patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC).
• To determine if SES independently influences survival and disease-specific survival in WDTC.
• To identify specific SES indicators affecting patient prognosis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of the Henry Ford Virtual Data Warehouse Tumor Registry for WDTC cases.
• Socioeconomic data sourced from the 2010 US Census, including income, poverty level, and housing.
• Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis to assess survival outcomes.

Main Results:

• In multivariable analysis, lower median household income, larger household size, younger age, and female sex were significantly associated with survival.
• Controlling for cancer stage, poverty level and median household income remained significant predictors of survival.
• Median household income was a significant factor for disease-specific mortality.

Conclusions:

• Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is correlated with poorer survival in well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC).
• SES, younger age, and female sex are significant factors influencing both overall and disease-specific survival in WDTC.
• These findings underscore the importance of socioeconomic determinants in thyroid cancer patient outcomes.