The Role of Childhood Opportunity in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survival in New Jersey: 2004–2020

Abstract

Background: In the United States, past and present policies have created imbalances in neighborhood resources available to children perpetuating health inequities. The purpose of this study was to determine if neighborhood resources, operationalized using the Child Opportunity Index, are associated with overall survival for 1,343 children and adolescents diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in New Jersey (NJ) between 2004 and 2020. Method: The NJ State Cancer Registry was used to create the study cohort. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were estimated for the five categories of the composite Child Opportunity Index and compared statistically by the log-rank test. Unadjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to estimate the hazard of death with inclusion in a final adjusted model set at p ≤ .10. This analytic plan was repeated for each of the three subdomains of the Child Opportunity Index to pinpoint potential areas for intervention. Findings: Five-year overall survival was 90%. However, census tracts with very low opportunity had 87% survival and very high had 96%. Living in a very low opportunity census tract was associated with a 2.6-fold risk of death compared to a very high opportunity tract. There was no difference in the hazard of death among racial or ethnic groups. Analyses of the subdomains of the Child Opportunity Index indicate these disparities are driven by socioeconomic factors. Discussion: In NJ childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survival is attributable, in part, to the inequitable allocation of opportunity among census tracts leaving children in the state's most poorly resourced areas at greatest risk.