SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND MELANOMA SURVIVAL

黑色素瘤是一种越来越常见的皮肤癌，通常是致命的。 对于这种情况，早期发现和早期诊断的显著预后优势 治疗。初步证据表明，社会经济水平较低的人 Status可能对黑色素瘤的存活率特别低，可能是因为 癌症有一种被发现和治疗的趋势 在这些人中处于晚期。我们建议研究两者之间的关系 社会经济状况对黑色素瘤检测、存活率和死亡率的影响 最近康涅狄格州的病例对照研究。这是一个丰富的、唯一的数据集 对于这种分析，因为这项研究是以人口为基础的，具有快速病例 确定，还包括对风险因素的全面评估 如自我筛查、医疗保健使用和其他与检测相关的因素 黑色素瘤的病例，并对生命状态和 癌症复发。社会经济地位的分配是基于 在教育、职业和综合指数方面，我们将确定 社会经济地位较低的病例有更多晚期黑色素瘤或 诊断时病变较厚，以及是否有更多的复发 癌症或较差的存活率与较高的社会经济状况相比 状态。随后，我们将评估这种情况的程度 差异与患者的行为、医疗和其他方面有关 特征，包括对黑色素瘤的知识，皮肤自身 由医务人员进行的检查或检查，或接触和使用 医疗保健服务。这项研究直接解决了几个高 2000年《健康人》中癌症控制科学的优先研究需求。 研究结果将对该病的检测和控制具有重要意义。 皮肤黑色素瘤，应该有助于塑造未来限制黑色素瘤的努力 死亡率。

Melanoma is an increasingly common, and often fatal form of skin cancer for which the substantial prognostic advantages of early detection and treatment. Preliminary evidence suggests that people of low socioeconomic status may have particularly poor survival from melanoma, perhaps because there is a tendency for the cancer to be detected and treated at a more advanced stage in these people. We propose to study the relationship of socioeconomic status to melanoma detection, survival and mortality in a recent case-control study in Connecticut. This is a rich, unique data set for such analyses, because the study is population-based with rapid case ascertainment, includes a comprehensive assessment of risk factors as well as self-screening, health care use, and other factors related to detection of melanoma, and it has on-going follow-up of cases for vital status and recurrence of the cancer. With assignment of socioeconomic status based on education, occupation, and composite indices, we will determine whether cases of lower socioeconomic status have more late stage melanoma or thicker lesions at diagnosis and whether they have more recurrence of the cancer or poorer survival compared to cases of higher socioeconomic status. Subsequently, we will evaluate the extent to which such differences are related to patients' behavioral, medical, and other characteristics, including knowledge of melanoma, frequency of skin self- examinations or examinations by medical personnel, or access to and use of health care services. This research directly addresses several of the high priority research needs for cancer control science in Health People 2000. The results will have important implications for detection and control of cutaneous melanoma, and should help shape future efforts to limit melanoma mortality.