Poverty, comorbidity, and survival of colorectal cancer patients diagnosedin Connecticut

Studies have reported reduced survival rates for colorectal cancer patients in lower socioeconomic status categories, but this finding could be due (a t least in part) to higher comorbidity. This study involved 1,219 patients diagnosed with invasive colorectal cancer in 1992 who were reported to the population-based Connecticut Tumor Registry and followed to their death or through the end of 1997. Risk of death was elevated for patients living in census tracts in the highest quintile for poverty rare, independent of como rbidity (as recorded in a hospital discharge database), age, and stage at d iagnosis. Patients living in census tracts with a poverty rate of 20 percen t or higher had the highest risk of death. The explanation for these findin gs requires further study, in order to reduce socioeconomic status disparit ies in survival rates.