Social disadvantage is transplantable! Cancer patients’ recovery gets influenced by their cell donors’ socioeconomic status: Study

The influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on human health and wellbeing extends far beyond just surface level. Beyond influencing access to resources or lifestyle choices, it appears to fundamentally alter the very biological and neurological processes that underpin human health and development.

Now, new research has found how one's position on the socioeconomic ladder can not only shape one’s physical and psychological outcomes, but penetrate so deeply into the core that it can be passed on to others!
Transplanting socioeconomic inequities: How donor SES affects patient outcomes
A groundbreaking study led by the University of Minnesota Medical School has shown that the SES of cell donors influences the health outcomes of blood cancer patients who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).

This study analysed the health outcomes of 2,005 blood cancer patients who were treated with HCT across 125 hospitals in the United States.

Their findings were startling: blood cancer patients who received transplants from donors with the greatest socioeconomic disadvantage saw a 9.7% drop in overall survival rates and a 6.6% increase in transplant-related mortality after three years, compared to those who received cells from donors with higher SES. This effect was seen irrespective of the patients' own socioeconomic status.

“Our findings are quite remarkable. We have shown that social disadvantage penetrates so deeply that it is actually transplantable into a new host, and its effects persist over time,” said Lucie Turcotte, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the director of the Masonic Cancer Center's Cancer Survivorship Services and Translational Research program.

These results further highlight the profound biological impact of social disadvantage and its ability to influence health outcomes, particularly in cancer treatment and hematopoietic cell transplantation.

“The importance of these findings reach far beyond cancer and bone marrow transplant care—they demonstrate the profound health effects of social inequality and highlight the critical need for public health interventions,” Dr. Turcotte added.

The team now plans to delve deeper into the biological and physiological mechanisms driving these findings, aiming to develop interventions to counteract the adverse health effects of socioeconomic disadvantage.

Beyond this study, there is a growing body of evidence that links socioeconomic status with various health disparities. Research has shown that lower SES is associated with higher stress levels, which can lead to chronic inflammation and a higher risk of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Additionally, the fact that access to healthcare, quality of education, and environmental factors are all influenced by SES creates a cycle of disadvantage that can be difficult to break.

The findings of the new research were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.