Health Policy Institute, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston 77030, USA.

BACKGROUND: A survival disadvantage for black women with breast cancer, which persists after controlling for stage of the disease, has been reported. This study investigates the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on breast cancer survival after controlling for age, stage, histology, and type of treatment.
METHODS: Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the interaction between race and SES in predicting survival in a sample of 163 black, 205 Hispanic and 964 white women with breast cancer treated at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center a (1987-1991).
RESULTS: The results of univariate and multivariate analyses indicate that race was not a significant predictor of survival after adjusting for SES and other confounding factors such as demographic and disease characteristics. SES remained a significant predictor of survival after all adjustments were made. There was no evidence of differences in type of treatment by race or SES if adjustments were made for stage.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that institutional factors, such as access to treatment, do not explain survival differences by race or SES. Others factors associated with low SES, such as life-style and behavior, may affect survival.

PMID: 9084846 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Ann Surg Oncol 1997 Mar;4(2):102-3
Comment on:
      Ann Surg Oncol. 1997 Mar;4(2):111-8.
Effects of race and socioeconomic status on survival of women with breast cancer.
Cady B.

Publication Types: Comment; Editorial
PMID: 9084844 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]