Abstract A016: Influence of socioeconomic status on physical and psychological wellbeing during the cancer care continuum: A longitudinal and regression analysis of cancer patients in New Delhi, India

Abstract Introduction: This study examined the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on the physical and psychological wellbeing of cancer patients and symptom changes over treatment course, to identify health inequities during care. Methods: A secondary dataset of 240 cancer patients aged 20–90 years in New Delhi, India, from the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS), was utilised. Of the cohort, 69.2% (n = 166) were female. The most common cancer diagnoses were breast (27.9%, n = 67), head and neck (22.9%, n = 55), and female genital organ cancers (16.3%, n = 39). All participants completed a baseline survey (T1); 120 were followed up after approximately one month (T2). Chi-Squared and multiple linear regressions were run to assess the relationship between income and educational attainment and both physical–pain, weakness, nausea, drowsiness–and psychological–depression, anxiety, feeling informed, resolution of personal/financial concerns (RPFC)–symptoms. This relationship was also assessed longitudinally through calculating symptom change scores (T2 minus T1) over treatment course. Results: Patients not coping on income were more likely to report weakness at T1 (p < 0.001), pain at T2 (p = 0.038), anxiety at both timepoints (p =0.026; p = 0.020), and feeling uninformed at T1 (p = 0.018). Post-secondary education was associated with lower severity symptoms at T2, less deterioration in weakness (p = 0.042), and feeling more informed at T1 (p = 0.025). In regression, higher combined income and education predicted lower pain (p = 0.024) and weakness (p < 0.001) at T1, and better RPFC at T2 (p = 0.028). Higher income also predicted feeling more informed at T1 (B = 0.224, 95% CI: 0.075–0.374, p = 0.003), reduced anxiety at T2 (B = -0.304, 95% CI: -0.585 to -0.023, p = 0.035), and increased RPFC during the course of care (B = -0.187, 95% CI: -0.370 to -0.004, p = 0.045). Conclusion: Higher-SES was generally associated with reduced physical symptom burden at both T1 and T2 as well as a decrease in anxiety over the treatment course. High-SES patients further reported feeling better informed and greater RPFC throughout the care continuum. This necessitates holistic cancer care–financial accessibility, patient education, and psychological support–that acknowledges additional burdens of low-SES patients particularly during the duration of the treatment course. Citation Format: Ishaan Rahman. Influence of socioeconomic status on physical and psychological wellbeing during the cancer care continuum: A longitudinal and regression analysis of cancer patients in New Delhi, India [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A016.