Survival after acute lymphocytic leukaemia: effects of socioeconomic status and geographic region.

National cancer registry data, linked to an areal measure of material deprivation, were used to explore possible socioeconomic and regional variation in the survival of children (0-14 years) diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) in England and Wales from 1971 to 1990. Survival analysis and Poisson regression were used to estimate observed (crude) survival probabilities and the adjusted hazard of death. There was little evidence of a socioeconomic gradient in survival. Regional differences in survival were observed over time. These differences were most pronounced in the first six months after diagnosis, and may be attributable to differential access to centralised paediatric oncology services or treatment protocols, or to the artefact of variations in regional cancer registry practice. Similar analyses should be repeated for other, less treatable childhood cancers. The results of this study can be used to help identify ways of reducing regional variation in survival.