Excess Cost of Cervical Cancer Screening Beyond Recommended Screening Ages or After Hysterectomy in a Single Institution.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to estimate the excess cost of guideline nonadherent cervical cancer screening in women beyond the recommended screening ages or posthysterectomy in a single healthcare system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All Pap tests performed between September 1, 2012, and August 31, 2014, in women younger than 21 years, older than 65 years, or after hysterectomy, were coded as guideline adherent or nonadherent per the 2012 America Society of Colposcopy and Clinical Pathology guidelines. We assumed management of abnormal results per the 2013 America Society of Colposcopy and Clinical Pathology management guidelines. Costs were obtained from a literature review and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services data and applied to nonadherent screening and subsequent diagnostic tests. RESULTS: During this period, 1,398 guideline nonadherent Pap tests were performed (257 in women <21 years, 536 in women >65 years, and 605 after hysterectomy), with 88 abnormal results: 35 (13.5%) in women younger than 21 years, 14 (2.6%) in women older than 65 years, and 39 (6.5%) in women after hysterectomy. The excess cost for initial screening, diagnostic tests, and follow-up was US $35,337 for 2 years in women younger than 21 years, US $54,378 for 5 years in women older than 65 years, and US $77,340 for 5 years in women after hysterectomy, resulting in a total excess cost of US $166,100 for 5 years. Of the 1,398 women who underwent guideline nonadherent screening, there were only 2 (0.1%) diagnoses of high-grade dysplasia (VaIN3). CONCLUSIONS: Guideline nonadherent cervical cancer screening in women beyond the recommended screening ages and posthysterectomy resulted in costs exceeding US $160,000 for screening, diagnostic tests, and follow-up with minimal improvement in detection of high-grade dysplasia.

Assessment of Circulating Tumor Cells as a Predictive Biomarker of Histology in Women With Suspected Ovarian Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The clinical assessment of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as a blood-based biomarker is FDA-approved for use in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers. The objective of this prospective clinical study was to determine whether pretreatment CTCs are a useful diagnostic biomarker in women with complex pelvic masses. METHODS: Whole blood was collected from 49 women with newly diagnosed pelvic masses. The presence of CTCs was compared between women with and without ovarian cancer histopathologic diagnosis after surgery using a Chi-squared test. RESULTS: CTCs were absent in those with benign disease (0/14), present in 17% (5/29) of patients with a histologic diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma, and present in 80% (4/5) of patients with ovarian metastases from other cancers (P = 0.001). All 5 women with ovarian cancer who had CTCs present presented stage III or IV of the disease (P = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS: CTCs were more prevalent in patients with metastases to the ovary than in primary ovarian carcinomas.

Propensity-Weighted Comparison of Long-Term Risk of Urinary Adverse Events in Elderly Women Treated For Cervical Cancer.

PURPOSE: Cervical cancer treatment is associated with a risk of urinary adverse events (UAEs) such as ureteral stricture and vesicovaginal fistula. We sought to measure the long-term UAE risk after surgery and radiation therapy (RT), with confounding controlled through propensity-weighted models. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database, we identified women ≥66 years old with nonmetastatic cervical cancer treated with simple surgery (SS), radical hysterectomy (RH), external beam RT plus brachytherapy (EBRT+BT), or RT+surgery. We matched them to noncancer controls 1:3. Differences in demographic and cancer characteristics were balanced by propensity weighting. Grade 3 to 4 UAEs were identified by diagnosis codes plus treatment codes. Cumulative incidence was measured using Kaplan-Meier methods. The hazard associated with different cancer treatments was compared using Cox models. RESULTS: UAEs occurred in 272 of 1808 cases (17%) and 222 of 5424 (4%) controls; most (62%) were ureteral strictures. The raw cumulative incidence of UAEs was highest in advanced cancers. UAEs occurred in 31% of patients after EBRT+BT, 25% of patients after RT+surgery, and 15% of patients after RH; however, after propensity weighting, the incidence was similar. In adjusted Cox models (reference = controls), the UAE risk was highest after RT+surgery (hazard ratio [HR], 5.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.32-11.07), followed by EBRT+BT (HR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.45-7.65), RH (HR, 3.65; 95% CI, 1.41-9.46) and SS (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.32-3.01). The higher risk after RT+surgery versus EBRT+BT was statistically significant, whereas, EBRT+BT and RH were not significantly different from each other. CONCLUSIONS: UAEs are common after cervical cancer treatment, particularly in patients with advanced cancers. UAEs are more common after RT, but these women tend to have the advanced cancers. After propensity weighting, the risk after RT was similar to that after surgery.

Improving referral for genetic risk assessment in ovarian cancer using an electronic medical record system.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate an electronic referral form to increase referral for genetic risk assessment of women with newly diagnosed epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS: A form summarizing referral for genetic counseling for women with ovarian cancer was introduced into the electronic medical record allowing gynecologic oncologists to electronically submit a request for genetic services. Analysis compared patient and provider characteristics for women newly diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer referred 1 year before and after introducing the form. All patients were seen in a single fee-for-service university-based cancer center clinic. RESULTS: There were 86 newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients seen before and 83 seen after the introduction of the electronic referral form. Most lived in the metropolitan area and had stage III to IV disease, serous histology, a documented family history, and a treating oncologist who was less than 10 years from completion of fellowship. Postintervention referral rates increased from 17% to 30% (P = 0.053). Factors best predicting referral were whether the patient was seen after the intervention (P = 0.009), resided in the metropolitan area (P = 0.006), and had been identified as at high hereditary risk (P < 0.0001). Sixty percent of the referred patients participated in counseling. There were no differences in baseline characteristics of the referred patients before and after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Referral rates increased with the introduction of an electronic medical record referral form suggesting that streamlining the physician referral process might be effective at increasing referrals for cancer genetic risk assessment.

Genetic risk assessment for women with epithelial ovarian cancer: referral patterns and outcomes in a university gynecologic oncology clinic.

Little is known about genetic service utilization and ovarian cancer. We identified the frequency and outcome of genetic counseling referral, predictors of referral, and referral uptake for ovarian cancer patients. Using pathology reports, we identified all epithelial ovarian cancer patients seen in a university gynecologic oncology clinic (1/04-8/06). Electronic medical records (EMR) were used to document genetic service referral, time from diagnosis-to-referral, point-in-treatment at referral, personal/family cancer history, demographics, and genetic test results. Groups were compared using chi-squared and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. The study population consisted of 376 women with ovarian cancer, 72 (19 %) of who were referred for genetic counseling/testing, primarily during surveillance. Of those referred, 42 (58 %) had personal or family genetic counseling and 34 (47 %) were ultimately tested or identified due to known family mutation. Family history and prior cancer were associated with referral. Family history, living in a larger community, higher-stage disease, and serous histology were associated with undergoing genetic counseling. Risk assessment identified 20 BRCA1/2 (5.3 %) and 1 HNPCC (0.3 %) mutation carriers. Based on recent estimates that 11.7-16.6 % of women with ovarian cancer are BRCA carriers and 2 % are HNPCC carriers, results suggest under-identification of carriers and under-utilization of genetic services by providers and patients. Interventions to increase medical providers' referrals, even in a specialized oncology clinic, are necessary and may include innovations in educating these providers using web-based methods. Ease of referral by the introduction of an electronic cancer genetic referral form represents another new direction that may increase genetic risk assessment for high-risk women with ovarian cancer.