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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study sheds light on factors that affect the outcome of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The study finds socioeconomic factors and treatment choice play a role in the patients risk of dying.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a common type of cancer in the elderly. The number of cases has increased over the past decades. Newer treatments are available for NHL, but studies have not looked at survival rates based on ethnic disparities as it related to treatment, diagnosis and socioeconomic status.
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For the current study, researchers from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston analyzed data from more than 13,000 patients over age 65 with NHL. The study included participants across the U.S. from Atlanta to Connecticut to Hawaii. Researchers looked at survival, socioeconomic status, treatment choice, tumor size and stage, health of patient, age, race, marital status and geographic area.
Study authors say patients who received chemotherapy had a longer survival than patients who had other treatment options. They also found Caucasian patients with NHL were more likely to receive chemotherapy compared to African-American patients. The study also revealed poor socioeconomic conditions increased the patients risk of dying and there were more African-Americans living in poor communities.
SOURCE: Published online in the journal Cancer on October 20, 2008
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