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Income represents an independent risk factor for mortality in patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results published in Annals of Surgical Oncology. Jonathan D’Cunha, MD, and colleagues analyzed income-based disparities in postoperative survival among patients with pathological stage IA NSCLC who underwent surgical resection. The cohort included 138,219 patients. Dr. D’Cunha and colleagues reported a stepwise decline in 5-year survival as income quartile declined (Q4, 72.0%; Q3, 67.8%; Q2, 66.1%; Q1, 64.2%). Hazard modeling implicated income level as an independent predictor of mortality. Patients in the lowest income quartile demonstrated an HR of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.21–1.31; P<0.001) relative to the highest quartile. According to the researchers, while overall survival rose within each income quartile over consecutive eras, income-based survival disparities remained. In addition to income, the differences in stage IA NSCLC mortality risk “may also be attributed to stacked risk factors in lower-income patients,” Dr. Cunha and colleagues wrote.