Gender Disparities in Bladder Cancer-Specific Survival in High Poverty Areas Utilizing Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System (OCISS)

Urology. 2021 May:151:163-168. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2020.07.013. Epub 2020 Jul 22.

Abstract

Objective: To better understand the interplay of socioeconomic and demographic traits on bladder cancer outcomes utilizing the Ohio state cancer registry, Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System (OCISS).

Methods: We obtained demographic, clinical and outcome data on 47,182 bladder cancer cases diagnosed from 1996 to 2016 from OCISS. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association between sex, race and poverty and survival, adjusting age, stage, and primary treatment.

Results: Within the OCISS database, there were 47,182 patients with a diagnosis of bladder cancer identified, with females representing 12,056 (26%) of the population. There were a total of 9255(35.2%) deaths due to bladder cancer, with median follow-up time of 4.4 years. After adjusting for confounding variables, women were statistically significantly less likely to die from any cause (HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91-0.96), compared with men, but more likely to die from bladder cancer (HR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.15-1.27). We also found that after adjusting for confounding variables, including sex and poverty, black race was statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of overall (HR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.06-1.18) and bladder cancer-specific mortality (HR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.15-1.36).

Conclusion: Using the OCISS database, female gender, self-reported black race, and neighborhood poverty level were associated with worse bladder cancer-specific survival. By recognizing these disparities, we can prospectively address risk factors in efforts to improve survival among these patient populations.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Female
  • Healthcare Disparities*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Ohio / epidemiology
  • Poverty Areas*
  • Racial Groups / statistics & numerical data
  • Registries
  • Sex Distribution*
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / mortality*