Nonbiological factors affecting survival in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUNDProgress has been made in determining the biological variants of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and their prognostic implications. However, to the authors' knowledge, little is known regarding the impact of nonbiological factors (NBFs) on the survival of patients with AML. METHODSThe impact of NBFs (marital status, insurance status, county-level income, and education) on survival was assessed along with biological factors (disease subtype, sex, age, and race/ethnicity) using a cohort of patients aged 19 to 64 years who were diagnosed with AML between 2007 and 2011 and reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program registry (SEER 18). RESULTSThere were 5541 patients included. The median overall survival for the entire study population was 16 months. On multivariate analysis, an increased risk of death was independently linked to being a Medicaid beneficiary, uninsured, single, divorced, and residing in a county within the lower 3 quintiles of median household income. NBFs affected the risk of early (<2 months) and late mortality and their impact was confirmed among patients known to have received chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONSInsurance status, marital status, and county-level income were found to independently affect the survival of younger patients with AML and should be integrated into outcome comparisons. Interventions are needed to mitigate the impact of social factors on survival among patients with AML. Cancer 2015;121:3877-3884. (c) 2015 American Cancer Society. The survival of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is influenced not only by biologic factors (eg, disease subtype and patient age), but also by nonbiologic factors. The results of the current study demonstrate that marital status, insurance status, and county-level median household income independently predict survival among younger patients with AML, and point to opportunities to improve the survival of patients with AML by addressing social factors.