Urban relatives ameliorate survival disparities for genitourinary cancer in rural patients.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Patients living in rural areas have worse cancer-specific outcomes. This study examines the effect of family-based social capital on genitourinary cancer survival. We hypothesized that rural patients with urban relatives have improved survival relative to rural patients without urban family.

Methods

We examined rural and urban based Utah individuals diagnosed with genitourinary cancers between 1968 and 2018. Familial networks were determined using the Utah Population Database. Patients and relatives were classified as rural or urban based on 2010 rural-urban commuting area codes. Overall survival was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models.

Results

We identified 24,746 patients with genitourinary cancer with a median follow-up of 8.72 years. Rural

SUBMITTER: Choudry M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10935886 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature