Abstract B20: Socioeconomic disparities in Hodgkin lymphoma survival: A population-based study

Compared to other cancers, survival after Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is generally favorable, but may vary by patient demographic characteristics. The authors examined HL survival according to neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), determined from patient residential census block group. For all 3,628 classical HL patients diagnosed in California during 1988–1992 and followed until 2005, we determined risk of overall and HL-specific death using Cox proportional hazards regression; analyses were stratified by age and Ann Arbor stage. For patients with stages III or IV HL, SES was not associated with survival, but for patients with stage I or II disease, risk of death was substantially higher for the low versus high SES categories both in adults <45 years at diagnosis (stage I hazard ratio (HR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2, 3.3; stage II HR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.4); and ≥45 years at diagnosis (stage I HR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.3, 2.4; stage II HR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.1). Even after adjustment for SES and stage, survival was poorer among black or Hispanic (versus white) young adult HL patients. These data provide strong evidence for substantial, and probably remediable disparities in HL outcomes.