Francisco Ramos, MD, on the impact of socioeconomic hardship in testicular cancer care

In this interview, Francisco Ramos, MD, discusses an abstract he presented at the 2026 Desai Sethi Urology Institute Urology on the Beach meeting examining the impact of socioeconomic hardship on cancer presentation and survival in testicular cancer.¹ Ramos is an Army resident and a PGY-5 at UT Health San Antonio.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or the Army.

Ramos explained that although testicular cancer is among the most curable solid malignancies when detected early, meaningful disparities persist. Drawing on experiences at UT Health San Antonio and University Hospital—a safety-net county hospital serving many patients facing socioeconomic hardship—the study was designed to move beyond individual socioeconomic factors and instead use a comprehensive hardship index. This approach aimed to better capture structural disadvantage and assess how it influences stage at diagnosis and treatment outcomes.

The analysis demonstrated that greater socioeconomic hardship was independently associated with later stage of presentation and worse survival outcomes.

Ramos emphasized that addressing socioeconomic hardship in cancer care requires multi-faceted interventions that target structural barriers both inside and outside the health care system. He highlighted strategies such as expanding insurance coverage, implementing patient navigation programs, improving transportation access, and offering community-based education initiatives. Because the hardship index encompasses factors like poverty, education, housing, crowding, and dependency ratio, Ramos stressed that single-point solutions are unlikely to be sufficient; comprehensive approaches that tackle multiple domains simultaneously are most likely to improve early detection and ultimately enhance survival for high-risk populations.

REFERENCE

1. Ramos F. Zip code, race, and ethnicity: The impact of socioeconomic hardship on cancer presentation and survival among patients with testicular germ cell tumors. Presented at: Urology on the Beach 2026. January 16-18, 2026. Miami Beach, Florida