Socio-economic Status
Univariate analysis did not demonstrate SES as being a significant
determinant of outcome (p=0.05) but multivariate analysis revealed that
patients who came from homes where the household income exceeded USD
23000 per year had a significantly lower risk of death (HR 0.071;
p=0.039) (TABLE 4). We also demonstrated a significant negative
correlation between SES and stage (Spearman rho = -0.153; p=0.03), in
that patients with higher SES presented with lower stage tumours.
However, in the cox model, we adjusted for both SES and stage,
revealing that the significant impact of SES on survival was in excess
of any effect that could be explained by lower stage disease at
diagnosis alone.