Survival differences in acral lentiginous melanoma according to socioeconomic status and race

Abstract

Background: Relationships of socioeconomic status (SES) and race to survival in acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) are poorly characterized.

Objective: To compare disease-specific survival in ALM across SES and race.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, 2000 to 2016.

Results: We identified 2245 patients with a first ALM diagnosis. Five-year disease-specific survival was 77.8% (95% CI, 75.9%-79.9%). After adjustment, patients in the lowest and second-to-lowest SES quintile had 1.33 (95% CI, 0.90-1.96) and 1.42 (95% CI, 1.03-1.97) times the risk of death, respectively, compared to highest quintile patients. Hispanic White and Black patients had 1.48 (95% CI, 1.10-1.99) and 1.25 (95% CI, 0.88-1.79) times the risk of death, respectively, compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Hazard ratios for ALM-specific death decreased in Hispanic White and Black patients after adjusting for SES and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage at diagnosis.

Limitations: Treatments could not be evaluated. SES was measured at the level of the census tract and does not account for individual level factors.

Conclusion: Differences exist in ALM survival according to socioeconomic status and race. Differences in SES and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage at diagnosis contribute to survival disparities for Hispanic White and Black patients. Understanding factors driving survival disparities related to SES and race may improve ALM outcomes.

Keywords: SEER; acral lentiginous melanoma; acral melanoma; disparities; health care disparities; melanoma; race; socioeconomic status; survival.