Delayed esophagectomy for adenocarcinoma is associated with a negative impact on long-term survival and an increased risk of perioperative morbidity.

OBJECTIVE: Delayed esophagectomy (DE) following chemoradiation therapy (CXRT) for esophageal carcinoma is undertaken in selected patients. This study aimed to assess both short-term outcomes and long-term survival for patients with adenocarcinoma undergoing DE. METHODS: The National Cancer Database was queried for patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical stage II-III esophageal adenocarcinoma undergoing esophagectomy after CXRT. Patients were categorized as (1) DE, ≥90 days between completion of CXRT and surgery or (2) nondelayed esophagectomy (NDE), <90 days. Cox regression was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. RESULTS: A total of 8157 patients met criteria. Age >69, nonwhite race, Medicare/Medicaid insured patients preferentially underwent DE. Five-year overall survival (OS) favored NDE (36% vs. 31%, p = 0.008). Cox regression identified DE, clinical stage >T2, or >N0 as factors associated with mortality. Within the DE group, OS favored early cT-status. DE fared worse than NDE in 30- and 90-day mortality (4.5%/11.1% vs. 2.9%/6.5%, p < 0.01/p < 0.001) and margin positive resection (7.1% vs. 4.2%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For esophageal adenocarcinoma, DE is associated with decreased OS compared to NDE. For DE, cT-status is prognostic for OS, while cN-status was not. Increased 30-/90-day mortality and margin positive resection rates for DE question whether patients with locally advanced (cT3/T4) primary esophageal adenocarcinoma should undergo intentional DE.

Estimating revenue, costs, and operating margin of any hospital-based thoracic surgery practice using a novel financial model.

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to develop a generalizable financial model that estimates payor-specific reimbursements associated with anatomic lung resections for any hospital-based thoracic surgery practice. METHODS: Medical records of patients who presented to the thoracic surgery clinic and eventually underwent an anatomic lung resection from January 2019 to December 2020 were reviewed. The volume of preoperative and postoperative studies, clinic visits, and outpatient referrals was measured. Neither subsequent studies nor procedures from outpatient referrals were captured. Diagnosis-related group, cost-to-charge ratios, Current Procedural Terminology Medicare payment data, and Private:Medicare and Medicaid:Medicare payment ratios were used to estimate payor-specific reimbursements and operating margin. RESULTS: A total of 111 patients met inclusion criteria and underwent 113 operations: 102 (90%) lobectomies, 7 (6%) segmentectomies, and 4 (4%) pneumonectomies. These patients underwent 554 total studies, received 60 referrals to other specialties, and had 626 total clinic visits. The total charges and Medicare reimbursement were $12.5 M and $2.7 M, respectively. After adjusting for a 41% Medicare, 2% Medicaid, and 57% Private payor mix, the total reimbursement was $4.7 M. With a 0.252 cost-to-charge ratio, total costs and operating income were $3.2 M and $1.5 M, respectively (ie, 33% operating margin). Average reimbursement per surgery by payor was $51k for Private, $29k for Medicare, and $23k for Medicaid. CONCLUSIONS: For any hospital-based thoracic surgery practice, this novel financial model can calculate both overall and payor-specific reimbursements, costs, and operating margin across the full perioperative spectrum. By manipulating hospital name, hospital state, volume, and payor mix, any program can gain insights into their financial contributions and use the outputs to guide investment decisions.

The Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Treatment and Mortality in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Treatment decisions for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are based on patient and tumor characteristics, including socioeconomic status (SES) factors. The objective was to assess the contribution of SES factors to treatment and outcomes among patients with stage I NSCLC. METHODS: The National Cancer Database was queried for operable patients with stage I NSCLC. Patients were divided into three treatment groups: primary resection (ie, surgery only); nonstandard treatments consisting of chemotherapy with or without radiation; and no therapy. The SES of patients who made up the treatment groups was assessed, and the 5-year survival of all groups was analyzed. RESULTS: The cohort included 69,168 patients with stage I NSCLC. Each of these patients had between zero and five SES risk factors. The factors associated with no surgery were low income, nonwhite race, low high school graduation rate, Medicaid or no insurance, rural residence, and distance less than 12.5 miles from treatment facility. Patients with several SES risk factors have linearly increasing odds of undergoing nonstandard treatments and quadratically increasing odds of having no therapy (for patients with five factors, to odds ratio 4.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.44 to 6.30). Surgery alone was associated with significantly longer 5-year survival (71.8%) compared with nonstandard treatments (22.7%) and no therapy (21.8%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic status factors increase the risk of undergoing guideline discordant therapy for stage I NSCLC. As the number of SES factors increases, the odds of no therapy rises quadratically whereas the odds of nonstandard treatments rises constantly. The surgery only group had significantly longer survival than the nonstandard treatment and no therapy groups.