Abstract
Several studies have suggested that rurality is a risk factor for worse prognosis in cancer. The study population included the 2268 lung cancer cases collected between 1981 and 1996 in the Doubs Cancer Registry (France). The numbers of patients were 849 (31.8%) in rural areas and 89 (3.3%) in very rural areas. The relative 5-year survival was 15.2% in rural areas and 13.4% in urban areas (p = 0.5), and 2.7% in very rural areas and 14.4% in extended urban areas (p = 0.02). Multivariate analyses of observed and relative survival showed that patients living in very rural areas (p < 0.0001), 65 years of age and older and having small cell carcinoma had a significantly shorter survival. This study showed that the multidimensional definition of rurality identified a population with unfavorable prognoses.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have