The impact of socioeconomic status on melanoma clinical trial participation: an observational cohort study from Australia.

Aim: This study aims to determine whether socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with participation in melanoma clinical trials.

Patients & Methods: A retrospective, single-center observational study was conducted at the Melanoma Institute Australia. Factors affecting clinical trial participation were assessed using logistic regression.

Results: Of 9074 patients, 2304 (25%) participated in a clinical trial. Multivariate analysis indicated males compared with females (odds ratio [OR]: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.07-1.30) and patients with American Joint Cancer Committee stage II or III disease (but not stage IV disease) were more likely to participate in trials than patients with stage I disease (OR: 2.81 [95% CI: 2.50-3.16] and OR: 4.55 [95% CI: 3.91-5.30], respectively). SES did not affect trial participation.

Conclusion: Our data suggest that SES is not a significant predictor of melanoma clinical trial participation when adjusted for other factors.