Although people’s socioeconomic status has nothing to do with cancer risk, it does have a bearing on what types of cancer they may suffer from , according to a new study published in the journal Cancer .
The work, carried out by a team of researchers from the New York State Cancer Registry (USA) led by Francis Boscoe, made a comparison of the people who live in the poorest areas with those who lived in other more favored areas , obtaining that almost 3 million cancers were diagnosed between 2005 and 2009 in 16 states, including among others Colorado, Florida, Iowa or Los Angeles. All individuals were divided into four groups based on their level of poverty – according to the American Community Survey 2005-2009 – at the time of diagnosis.
Of the 39 types of cancer detected , 32 of them showed a significant relationship with poverty (both low and medium level), determining that laryngeal, cervical, penile and liver cancer were more likely in the most disadvantaged or poor neighborhoods ; however, other types of cancer, such as melanoma, thyroid cancer, non-epithelial skin cancer, and testicular cancer, were more possible in wealthier neighborhoods.
“The types of cancer most associated with poverty have lower incidence and higher mortality and those related to wealth have a higher incidence and lower mortality; when it comes to cancer, the poor are more likely to die from the disease while the rich are more likely to die from the disease, ”says study leader Francis Boscoe.
