Differential Safety Between Top-Ranked Cancer Hospitals and Their Affiliates for Complex Cancer Surgery.

Importance: Leading cancer hospitals have increasingly shared their brands with other hospitals through growing networks of affiliations. However, the brand of top-ranked cancer hospitals may evoke distinct reputations for safety and quality that do not extend to all hospitals within these networks. Objective: To assess perioperative mortality of Medicare beneficiaries after complex cancer surgery across hospitals participating in networks with top-ranked cancer hospitals. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cross-sectional study was performed of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 100% Medicare Provider and Analysis Review file from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2016, for top-ranked cancer hospitals (as assessed by U.S. News and World Report) and affiliated hospitals that share their brand. Participants were 29 228 Medicare beneficiaries older than 65 years who underwent complex cancer surgery (lobectomy, esophagectomy, gastrectomy, colectomy, and pancreaticoduodenectomy [Whipple procedure]) between January 1, 2013, and October 1, 2016. Exposures: Undergoing complex cancer surgery at a top-ranked cancer hospital vs an affiliated hospital. Main Outcomes and Measures: Risk-adjusted 90-day mortality estimated using hierarchical logistic regression and comparison of the relative safety of hospitals within each cancer network estimated using standardized mortality ratios. Results: A total of 17 300 patients (59.2%; 8612 women and 8688 men; mean [SD] age, 74.7 [6.2] years) underwent complex cancer surgery at 59 top-ranked hospitals and 11 928 patients (40.8%; 6287 women and 5641 men; mean [SD] age, 76.2 [6.9] years) underwent complex cancer surgery at 343 affiliated hospitals. Overall, surgery performed at affiliated hospitals was associated with higher 90-day mortality (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.23-1.59; P < .001), with odds ratios that ranged from 1.32 (95% CI, 1.12-1.56; P = .001) for colectomy to 2.04 (95% CI, 1.41-2.95; P < .001) for gastrectomy. When the relative safety of each top-ranked cancer hospital was compared with its collective affiliates, the top-ranked hospital was safer than the affiliates in 41 of 49 studied networks (83.7%; 95% CI, 73.1%-93.3%). Conclusions and Relevance: The likelihood of surviving complex cancer surgery appears to be greater at top-ranked cancer hospitals compared with the affiliated hospitals that share their brand. Further investigation of performance across trusted cancer networks could enhance informed decision making for complex cancer care.

Serious adverse events in African-American cancer patients with sickle cell trait and inherited haemoglobinopathies in a SEER-Medicare claims cohort.

African-American (AA) cancer patients have long-experienced worse outcomes compared to non-Hispanic whites (NHW). No studies to date have evaluated the prognostic impact of sickle cell trait (SCT) and other inherited haemoglobinopathies, of which several are disproportionately high in the AA population. In a cohort analysis of treated patients diagnosed with breast or prostate cancer in the linked SEER-Medicare database, the relative risk (RR) for ≥1 serious adverse events (AEs), defined as hospitalisations or emergency department visits, was estimated for 371 AA patients with a haemoglobinopathy (AA+) compared to patients without haemoglobinopathies (17,303 AA-; 144,863 NHW-). AA+ patients had significantly increased risk for ≥1 AEs compared to AA- (RR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.11-1.27) and NHW- (RR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.15-1.31) patients. The magnitude of effect was similar by cancer type, and in analyses of AA+ with SCT only. Our findings suggest a novel hypothesis for disparities in cancer outcomes.