Observed-to-expected incidence ratios of second malignant neoplasms after radiation therapy for medulloblastoma: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results analysis.

BACKGROUND: The authors analyzed the incidence and types of second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) in patients treated for medulloblastoma. METHODS: The authors compared the incidence of SMNs after radiotherapy (RT) for medulloblastoma in patients treated in 1973-2014 with the incidence in the general population with the multiple primary-standardized incidence ratio function of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9. Observed-to-expected incidence (O/E) ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported for the entire cohort and by disease site according to age at diagnosis, treatment era, and receipt of chemotherapy. P values < .05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 1294 patients with medulloblastoma who received RT, 68 developed 75 SMNs. The O/E ratio for SMNs among all patients was 4.49 (95% CI, 3.53-5.62; P < .05). The site at highest risk was the central nervous system (CNS; O/E, 40.62; 95% CI, 25.46-61.51), which was followed by the endocrine system (O/E, 15.95; 95% CI, 9.12-25.91), bone (O/E, 14.45; 95% CI, 1.75-52.21), soft tissues (O/E, 9.01; 95% CI, 1.09-32.56), the digestive system (O/E, 5.03; 95% CI, 2.51-9.00), and the lymphatic/hematopoietic system (O/E, 3.37; 95% CI, 1.35-6.94). The O/E ratio was higher for patients given chemotherapy and RT (O/E, 5.52; 95% CI, 3.75-7.83) than for those given RT only (O/E, 3.96; 95% CI, 2.88-5.32). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with medulloblastoma are at elevated risk for SMNs in comparison with the general population. Variations in O/E for SMNs by organ systems were found for treatment modality, age at diagnosis, and time of diagnosis. The most common site, the CNS, was involved more often in younger patients and those given chemotherapy with RT.

Greater preferences for death in hospital and mechanical ventilation at the end of life among non-whites recently diagnosed with cancer.

PURPOSE: Non-white cancer patients receive more aggressive care at the end-of-life (EOL). This may indicate low quality EOL care if discordant with patient preferences. We investigated preferred potential place of death and preferences regarding use of mechanical ventilation in a cohort of Texas cancer patients. METHODS: A population-based convenience sample of recently diagnosed cancer patients from the Texas Cancer Registry was surveyed using a multi-scale inventory between March 2018 and June 2020. Item responses to questions about preferences regarding location of death and mechanical ventilation were the outcome measures of this investigation. Inverse probability weighting analysis was used to construct multivariable logistic regression examining the associations of covariates. RESULTS: Of the 1460 respondents, a majority (82%) preferred to die at home compared to 8% who preferred dying at the hospital. In total, 25% of respondents expressed a preference for undergoing mechanical ventilation at the EOL. Adjusted analysis showed increased preference among Black (OR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.19-2.73) and other non-white, non-Hispanic race individuals (OR = 3.53; 95% CI: 1.99-6.27) for dying at a hospital. Males, married individuals, those of higher education and poor self-reported health showed significantly higher preference for dying at home. Non-white respondents of all races were more likely to prefer mechanical ventilation at the EOL as were individuals who lived with another person at home. CONCLUSION: Non-white cancer patients were more likely to express preferences coinciding with aggressive EOL care including dying at the hospital and utilizing mechanical ventilation. These findings were independent of other sociodemographic characteristics, including decisional self-efficacy.

Patterns of care for pediatric patients with newly-diagnosed grade II gliomas.

PURPOSE: We describe large-scale demographic, initial treatment, and outcomes data for pediatric grade II gliomas included in the National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2014. METHODS: Our cohort included cases less than 21 years of age with pathology-confirmed disease. Logistic regressions were used to evaluate the use of chemotherapy (CT) and radiation therapy (RT). Overall survival (OS) rates were determined using Kaplan-Meier estimates and the log-rank test. RESULTS: We identified 803 cases with astrocytoma (56.2%), oligodendroglioma (26.0%), and mixed glioma/glioma NOS (17.8%) histologies. Most cases underwent surgical resection (n = 661). Whereas cases 16 to 21 years of age were more likely than cases 0 to 5 years to receive RT (OR = 7.38, 95% CI 3.58-15.21, p < 0.001), they were less likely to receive CT (OR = 0.34, 95% CI 0.22-0.52, p < 0.001). The 5-year OS rates for all cases, cases that underwent surgical resection, and cases managed with biopsy were 87.5%, 92.7%, and 63.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In one of the largest series of pediatric grade II gliomas, astrocytoma was the most common histology. Patterns of care and OS outcomes were similar to grade I gliomas, with surgical resection being the most common initial treatment and associated with a favorable rate of OS. Younger patients were more likely to receive post-operative CT and the use of RT increased with age.

Relationship between treatment center case volume and survival for localized Ewing sarcoma: The role of radiotherapy timing.

In the treatment of localized Ewing sarcoma (EWS), delays in local therapy are known to adversely impact overall survival (OS). However, the role of treatment center volume in EWS outcomes, and the interaction between center volume and local therapy timing with definitive radiotherapy, remains unknown. Using the National Cancer Database, we demonstrate that treatment at the lowest EWS volume centers is associated with reduced OS, explained partly by higher rates of delayed local therapy. Treatment at the highest volume centers results in improved OS, but appears independent of radiotherapy timing. Future efforts to improve care for EWS patients across treatment centers are imperative.

Development of second primary tumors and outcomes in medulloblastoma by treatment modality: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results analysis.

BACKGROUND: As treatment modalities for medulloblastoma have developed and overall survival (OS) has improved, there are relatively limited data on the impact of long-term effects such as risk of second primary tumors (SPT). To address the knowledge gap, we analyzed factors associated with the risk of SPT and OS by treatment modality for medulloblastoma. METHODS: We queried the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-18 database for patients diagnosed with medulloblastoma in 1973-2014. Patients were then grouped by age, gender, race, geographic region, histology, adjuvant treatment (no radiation [RT] and no chemotherapy [CT], RT and CT, RT alone, or CT alone), era of diagnosis (1973-1994 or 1995-2014), and survival time. Cumulative incidence, factors associated with SPT and OS were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 2271 patients, 146 developed SPT, of which 42 were benign. The incidence of SPT was 3.1% and 4.9% at 10 and 15 years, respectively. The incidence of SPT was 3.1% with RT + CT versus 3.7% with RT alone at 10 years. The most common site for an SPT was the central nervous system. Female gender (P = 0.01) and longer OS of ≥21 years (P < 0.01) were associated with higher risk of SPT. RT + CT led to better OS than RT only (66.1% and 61.4% vs 55.6% and 49.7% at 10 and 15 years) (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Medulloblastoma patients have a relatively low risk of SPT at 10 years with treatment. Use of RT + CT led to better OS with no statistical difference in SPT compared with the RT alone.

Hospice enrollment among cancer patients in Texas covered by Medicare managed care and traditional fee-for-service plans: a statewide population-based study.

PURPOSE: Although rates of hospice use have increased over time, insurance plan- and racial/ethnic-based disparities in rates have been reported in the USA. We hypothesized that increased rates of hospice use would reduce or eliminate insurance plan-based disparities and that racial/ethnic disparities would be eliminated in managed care (MC) insurance plans. METHODS: We studied the use of hospice care in the final 30 days of life among 40,184 elderly Texas Medicare beneficiaries who died from primary breast, colorectal, lung, pancreas, or prostate cancer between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2013, using statewide Medicare claims linked to cancer registry data. Rates of hospice use were computed by race/ethnicity and insurance plan (MC or fee-for-service (FFS)). We used logistic regression to account for the impact of confounding factors. RESULTS: Rates of hospice use increased significantly over time, from 68.9% in 2007 to 76.1% in 2013. By 2013, differences in hospice use rates between MC and FFS plans had been reduced from 10% to < 5%. However, after accounting for insurance plan and confounding factors, racial/ethnic minority beneficiaries' hospice use was significantly lower than non-Hispanic white beneficiaries' (p < 0.0001). This disparity was observed among both FFS and MC beneficiaries. CONCLUSIONS: Hospice use in the final 30 days of life has increased among elderly cancer patients in Texas, virtually eliminating the difference between FFS and MC insurance plans. Despite these positive trends, racial/ethnic-based disparities persist. These disparities are not explained by confounding factors. Future research should address social and behavioral influences on end-of-life decisions.

Reduced feeding tube duration with intensity-modulated radiation therapy for head and neck cancer: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a technologically advanced and resource-intensive method of delivering radiation therapy (RT) and is used to minimize toxicity for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Dependence on feeding tubes is a significant marker of toxicity of RT. The objective of this analysis was to compare the placement and duration of feeding tube use among patients with HNC from 1999 through 2011. METHODS: The cohort, demographics, and cancer-related variables were determined using the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database, and claims data were used to analyze treatment details. RESULTS: In total, 2993 patients were identified. At a median follow-up of 47 months, 54.4% of patients had ever had a feeding tube placed. The median duration from feeding tube placement to removal was 277 days. On zero-inflated negative binomial regression, patients who received IMRT and 3-dimensional RT (3DRT) (non-IMRT) had similar rates of feeding tube placement (odds ratio, 1.10; P = .35); however, patients who received 3DRT had a feeding tube in place 1.18 times longer than those who received IMRT (P = .03). The difference was only observed among patients who received definitive RT; patients who underwent surgery and also received adjuvant RT had no statistically significant difference in feeding tube placement or duration. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with HNC who received definitive IMRT had a significantly shorter duration of feeding tube placement than those who received 3DRT. These data suggest that there may be significant quality-of-life benefits to IMRT with respect to long-term swallowing function in patients with HNC. Cancer 2017;123:283-293. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Automated pain intervention for underserved minority women with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Minority patients with breast cancer are at risk for undertreatment of cancer-related pain. The authors evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of an automated pain intervention for improving pain and symptom management of underserved African American and Latina women with breast cancer. METHODS: Sixty low-income African American and Latina women with breast cancer and cancer-related pain were enrolled in a pilot study of an automated, telephone-based, interactive voice response (IVR) intervention. Women in the intervention group were called twice weekly by the IVR system and asked to rate the intensity of their pain and other symptoms. The patients' oncologists received e-mail alerts if the reported symptoms were moderate to severe. The patients also reported barriers to pain management and received education regarding any reported obstacles. RESULTS: The proportion of women in both groups reporting moderate to severe pain decreased during the study, but the decrease was significantly greater for the intervention group. The IVR intervention also was associated with improvements in other cancer-related symptoms, including sleep disturbance and drowsiness. Although patient adherence to the IVR call schedule was good, the oncologists who were treating the patients rated the intervention as only somewhat useful for improving symptom management. CONCLUSIONS: The IVR intervention reduced pain and symptom severity for underserved minority women with breast cancer. Additional research on technological approaches to symptom management is needed.

Variation in Intensity and Costs of Care by Payer and Race for Patients Dying of Cancer in Texas: An Analysis of Registry-linked Medicaid, Medicare, and Dually Eligible Claims Data.

PURPOSE: To investigate end-of-life care for Medicaid, Medicare, and dually eligible beneficiaries dying of cancer in Texas. METHODS: We analyzed the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR)-Medicaid and TCR-Medicare linked databases' claims data for 69,572 patients dying of cancer in Texas from 2000 to 2008. We conducted regression models in adjusted analyses of cancer-directed and acute care and total costs of care (in 2014 dollars) in the last 30 days of life. RESULTS: Medicaid patients were more likely to receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Medicaid patients were more likely to have >1 emergency room (ER) [odds ratio (OR)=5.27; 95% confidence interval (CI), 4.76-5.84], and were less likely to enroll in hospice (OR=0.59; 95% CI, 0.55-0.63) than Medicare patients. Dual eligibles were more likely to have >1 ER visit than Medicare-only beneficiaries (OR=1.19; 95% CI, 1.07-1.33). Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to experience >1 ER visit and >1 hospitalization than whites. Costs were higher for nonwhite Medicare, Medicaid, and dually eligible patients compared with white Medicare enrollees. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in acute care utilization and costs by race and payer suggest efforts are needed to address palliative care coordination at the end of life for Medicaid and dually eligible beneficiaries and minority patients dying of cancer.

Improved survival using intensity-modulated radiation therapy in head and neck cancers: a SEER-Medicare analysis.

BACKGROUND: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a technologically advanced, and more expensive, method of delivering radiation therapy with a goal of minimizing toxicity. It has been widely adopted for head and neck cancers; however, its comparative impact on cancer control and survival remains unknown. The goal of this analysis was to compare the cause-specific survival (CSS) for patients with head and neck cancers treated with IMRT versus non-IMRT from 1999 to 2007. METHODS: CSS was determined using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database and analyzed regarding treatment details, including the use of IMRT versus non-IMRT, using claims data. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by the frailty model with a propensity score matching cohort and instrumental variable analysis. RESULTS: A total of 3172 patients were identified. With a median follow-up of 40 months, patients treated with IMRT had a statistically significant improvement in CSS compared with those treated with non-IMRT (84.1% versus 66.0%; P < .001). When each anatomic subsite was analyzed separately, all respective subgroups of patients treated with IMRT had better CSS than those treated with non-IMRT. In multivariable survival analyses, patients treated with IMRT were associated with better CSS (HR = 0.72, 95% confidence interval = 0.59 to 0.90 for propensity score matching; HR = 0.60, 95% confidence interval = 0.41 to 0.88 for instrumental variable analysis). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with head and neck cancers who were treated with IMRT experienced significant improvements in CSS compared with patients treated with non-IMRT techniques. This suggests there may be benefits to IMRT in cancer outcomes, in addition to toxicity reduction, for this patient population.

Factors Associated with Adoption of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment for Advanced Melanoma: A SEER-Medicare Cohort Study.

We aimed to explore the differences in immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) immunotherapy utilization for advanced melanoma by examining patient and neighborhood characteristics. We performed a retrospective cohort study using a deidentified, random sample of SEER-Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years with stage III or stage IV melanoma (2011-2017). Our primary outcome was initiation of ICI immunotherapy (ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, or atezolizumab) after stage III or stage IV melanoma diagnosis. We analyzed ICI usage with multivariable logistic regression. After analyzing the entire 2011-2017 cohort, we conducted a secondary analysis in which we separately analyzed the 2011-2014 and 2015-2017 cohorts to assess possible differences over time. We included 3531 beneficiaries, with mean follow-up of 2.1 (SD = 2.0) years. Higher likelihood of ICI usage was associated with male sex (OR = 1.21, 95% confidence interval = 1.04-1.42) and higher density of medical oncologists (OR = 1.02, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.04). Lower likelihood of ICI usage was associated with older age group and Charlson comorbidity score (score ≥2; OR = 0.72, 95% confidence interval = 0.60-0.86). These associations were diminished in more recent years (no association with sex, medical oncologist density, Charlson comorbidity score, and association with only the oldest age group in years 2015-2017). We found significant sex- and age-related differences in initiation among SEER-Medicare beneficiaries with stage III or stage IV melanoma, which appear to be improving over time.

Toward personalized skin cancer care: multiple skin cancer development in five cohorts.

Importance: Many patients will develop more than one skin cancer, however most research to date has examined only case status. Objective: Describe the frequency and timing of the treatment of multiple skin cancers in individual patients over time. Design: Longitudinal claims and electronic health record-based cohort study. Setting: Vanderbilt University Medical Center database called the Synthetic Derivative, VA, Medicare, Optum Clinformatics® Data Mart Database, IBM Marketscan. Participants: All patients with a Current Procedural Terminology code for the surgical management of a skin cancer in each of five cohorts. Exposures: None. Main Outcomes and Measures: The number of CPT codes for skin cancer treatment in each individual occurring on the same day as an ICD code for skin cancer over time. Results: Our cohort included 5,508,374 patients and 13,102,123 total skin cancers treated. Conclusions and Relevance: Nearly half of patients treated for skin cancer were treated for more than one skin cancer. Patients who have not developed a second skin cancer by 2 years after the first are unlikely to develop multiple skin cancers within the following 5 years. Better data formatting will allow for improved granularity in identifying individuals at high risk for multiple skin cancers and those unlikely to benefit from continued annual surveillance. Resource planning should take into account not just the number of skin cancer cases, but the individual burden of disease.

Adherence to national guidelines for antiemesis prophylaxis in patients undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Nausea and vomiting (N/V) during chemotherapy can have profound clinical and economic consequences. Effective antiemetic agents are available for prophylaxis, but barriers may prevent their use. For this population-based study, the authors assessed the rates of antiemetic prophylaxis use, and predictors of such use, among patients who were receiving platinum-based chemotherapy for lung cancer between 2001 and 2007. METHODS: The authors searched the Texas Cancer Registry-Medicare-linked database for individuals aged >65 years who received platinum-based chemotherapy within 12 months after a first diagnosis of lung cancer from 2001 to 2007; and all patients had continuous Medicare Part A and Part B coverage for the same period. Adherence to recommended regimens for N/V prophylaxis (established by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network) was scored as a binary variable (adherent vs nonadherent) and was calculated as the percentages of treated patients receiving each recommended agent within 1 day of beginning chemotherapy. Logistic regression with stepwise selection was used to examine whether patient characteristics influenced adherence. RESULTS: Of 4566 selected patients, adherence rates for the receipt of serotonin antagonists (eg, ondansetron) with dexamethasone were 60% to 90% regardless of whether the chemotherapy agent was considered moderately or highly emetogenic. The receipt of substance-P antagonists was much less common (<10%) during any period. On multivariate logistic regression modeling, variables that predicted adherence were older age, white race, higher median income, and concurrent radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Recommended use of antiemetics for prophylaxis, especially substance-P antagonists, during chemotherapy for lung cancer is suboptimal. Factors that were correlated with adherence suggest socioeconomic barriers in the community.

Changing trends in radiation therapy technologies in the last year of life for patients diagnosed with metastatic cancer in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Our goal was to investigate utilization trends for advanced radiation therapy (RT) technologies, such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), in the last year of life among patients diagnosed with metastatic cancer. METHODS: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked databases to analyze claims data in the last 12 months of life for 64,525 patients diagnosed with metastatic breast, colorectal, lung, pancreas, and prostate cancers from 2000 to 2007. Logistic regression modeling was conducted to analyze potential demographic, health services, and treatment-related variables' influences on receipt of advanced RT. RESULTS: Among the 19,161 (29.7%) patients who received radiation therapy, there was a significant decrease in the proportion of patients who received the simplest radiation technique (ie, 2D-radiation therapy) (P < .0001), and significant increases in the proportions of patients receiving more advanced radiation techniques (ie, IMRT, and SRS; P < .0001 for all curves); although the rates for use of IMRT and SRS in 2007 remained under 5%. On multivariate analyses, receipt of RT varied significantly by non-clinical characteristics such as race, marital status, neighborhood income, and SEER region. Patients who received hospice care in the last year of life were more likely to receive radiation therapy (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.30-1.40) but less likely to be treated with IMRT (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.62-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Although the proportion of patients receiving RT in the last year of life for metastatic cancer did not change for most of the past decade, we observed significant trends toward more advanced radiation techniques.

Disparity in initiation of checkpoint inhibitors among commercially insured and Medicare Advantage patients with metastatic melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of advanced melanoma, but racial disparities in melanoma outcomes continue. These inequities are not fully explained by individual factors. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of neighborhood factors with the use of ICIs in metastatic melanoma. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of commercially insured US adults with metastatic melanoma diagnosed between January 2011 and December 2020. We examined the associations between the county-level percentage of population from racial and ethnic minority groups and the time from metastatic melanoma diagnosis to initiating ICIs using Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for patient characteristics. RESULTS: We identified 4,052 patients with metastatic melanoma, of which 49% used ICIs. We found that the adoption of ICIs in a county declined with increasing minority quintile (quintile 1: 52.4%, quintile 2: 50.4%, quintile 3: 50.1%, quintile 4: 45.8%, and quintile 5: 44.7%). The delay in ICI initiation also went up as the percentage of minorities in a county increased (log-rank test P = 0.03). Compared with the lowest quintile, the adjusted hazard ratio of ICI initiation of the second, third, fourth, and highest minority quintile was 0.94 (95% CI = 0.81-1.08), 0.88 (95% CI = 0.76-1.02), 0.81 (95% CI = 0.68-0.97), and 0.77 (95% CI = 0.66-0.91), respectively. Secondary analysis revealed that the slower initiation was driven by the counties with the highest percentage of Hispanic population (hazard ratio = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.61-0.89) in both Cox models and sensitivity analyses. High-minority counties correlated with metro areas, higher poverty levels, and a greater number of medical oncologists. CONCLUSIONS: We found that patients with metastatic melanoma living in counties with higher proportion of minorities, particularly of Hispanic origin, are more likely to experience delays in ICI treatment. This study provides important population-level data on neighborhood-level disparity in medication use. More research is needed on the underlying provider- and system-level factors that directly contributed to the lower use of cancer medicines in high-minority areas, which can help inform the development of evidence-based medication use strategies that can improve health outcomes and equity.

Patient-reported outcomes in older breast cancer survivors with and without prior chemotherapy treatment.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about long-term treatment-related symptoms in older breast cancer survivors. We characterized long-term patient-reported symptoms and examined factors associated with the presence and severity of symptoms, and symptom interference with daily activities. METHODS: Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) Medicare linkage data was used to identify breast cancer patients age 65 and older with local/regional stage disease diagnosed between 2012-2013. Symptom burden was assessed using breast-specific items from the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE™). Demographic and clinical data also were collected. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between symptom burden and respondent sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Of 4448 eligible patients, 1594 (response-rate 35.8%) completed questionnaires. Of these, 1245 eligible respondents were included in the analysis based on self-reported data. Median time from diagnosis to survey completion was 68 months (IQR: 62-73). Most frequently reported symptoms were fatigue/lack of energy (76.8%), aching muscles (72.1%) and aching joints (72.5%). Receipt of chemotherapy was associated with higher symptom burden. Patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy had higher risk of numbness/tingling (OR: 3.16; 95% CI: 2.36-4.24), hair loss (OR: 2.72; 95% CI: 2.05-3.60), and fatigue/lack of energy (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.29-2.52). Similarly, patients who received chemotherapy were more likely to report the majority of symptoms as moderate to severe and as interfering with daily activities. CONCLUSION: Receipt of chemotherapy is associated with significant symptom burden more than 5 years after breast cancer treatment. Long-term chemotherapy impact should be discussed with patients in a shared-decision making process and approaches to symptom management during survivorship care are needed.

Disparity in checkpoint inhibitor utilization among commercially insured adult patients with metastatic lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence from nationwide samples on the disparity of initiating immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) after metastatic lung cancer diagnosis. METHODS: We identified metastatic lung cancer patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2020 from a large, nationwide commercial claims database. We analyzed the time from metastatic lung cancer diagnosis to ICI therapy using Cox proportional hazard models. Independent variables included county-level measures (quintiles of percentage of racialized population, quintiles of percentage of population below poverty, urbanity, and density of medical oncologists) and patient characteristics (age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, Medicare Advantage, and year of diagnosis). All tests were 2-sided. RESULTS: A total of 17 022 patients were included. Counties with a larger proportion of racialized population appeared to be more urban, have a greater percentage of its residents in poverty, and have a higher density of medical oncologists. In Cox analysis, the adjusted hazard ratio of the second, third, fourth, and highest quintile of percentage of racialized population were 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.82 to 0.98), 0.85 (95% CI = 0.78 to 0.93), 0.78 (95% CI = 0.71 to 0.86), and 0.71 (95% CI = 0.62 to 0.81), respectively, compared with counties in the lowest quintile. The slower ICI therapy initiation was driven by counties with the highest percentage of Hispanic population and other non-Black racialized groups. CONCLUSIONS: Commercially insured patients with metastatic lung cancer who lived in counties with greater percentage of racialized population had slower initiation of ICI therapy after lung cancer diagnosis, despite greater density of oncologists in their neighborhood.

Definitive Liver Radiotherapy for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma with Extrahepatic Metastases.

Introduction: Tumor-related liver failure (TRLF) is the most common cause of death in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Though we previously showed that liver radiotherapy (L-RT) for locally advanced ICC is associated with less frequent TRLF and longer overall survival (OS), the role of L-RT for patients with extrahepatic metastatic disease (M1) remains undefined. We sought to compare outcomes for M1 ICC patients treated with and without L-RT. Methods: We reviewed ICC patients that found to have M1 disease at initial diagnosis at a single institution between 2010 and 2021 who received L-RT, matching them with an institutional cohort by propensity score and a National Cancer Database (NCDB) cohort by frequency technique. The median biologically effective dose was 97.5 Gy (interquartile range 80.5-97.9 Gy) for L-RT. Patients treated with other local therapies or supportive care alone were excluded. We analyzed survival with Cox proportional hazard modeling. Results: We identified 61 patients who received L-RT and 220 who received chemotherapy alone. At median follow-up of 11 months after diagnosis, median OS was 9 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 8-11) and 21 months (CI: 17-26) for patients receiving chemotherapy alone and L-RT, respectively. TRLF was the cause of death more often in the patients who received chemotherapy alone compared to those who received L-RT (82% vs. 47%; p = 0.001). On multivariable propensity score-matched analysis, associations with lower risk of death included duration of upfront chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.82; p = 0.005) and receipt of L-RT (HR: 0.40; p = 0.002). The median OS from diagnosis for NCDB chemotherapy alone cohort was shorter than that of the institutional L-RT cohort (9 vs. 22 months; p < 0.001). Conclusion: For M1 ICC, L-RT associated with a lower rate of death due to TRLF and longer OS versus those treated with chemotherapy alone. Prospective studies of L-RT in this setting are warranted.

Growing Financial Burden From High-Cost Targeted Oral Anticancer Medicines Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Cancer.

PURPOSE: The rapidly rising costs of targeted oral anticancer medicines (TOAMs) raise concerns over their affordability. Our goal was to examine recent trends in the uptake of TOAMs among cancer patients with Medicare Part D, the share of TOAM users who reached catastrophic coverage, and the annual spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase. METHODS: Using the 5% SEER-Medicare, we included patients age 65 years and older who had one primary cancer diagnosis between 2011 and 2016. We included person-years where patients were enrolled in a Part D plan for the entire year, did not receive the low-income subsidy at any time of the year, and received anticancer systemic therapies. We estimated the trends in the share of patients who used TOAMs, the percentage of TOAM users reaching catastrophic coverage, and the total and patient out-of-pocket spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase in a year. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2016, the uptake of TOAMs among our study population increased from 3.6% to 8.9%. The percentage of non-low-income subsidy TOAM users who reached catastrophic coverage increased from 54.6% to 60.3%. Among those who reached the catastrophic phase, mean total gross spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase increased from $16,074 (USD) to $64,233 (USD) and mean patient out-of-pocket spending from $596 (USD) to $2,549 (USD). The mean 30-day total spending increased from $4,011 (USD) to $8,857 (USD), and the mean 30-day out-of-pocket spending from $154 (USD) to $328 (USD). CONCLUSION: The high and growing burden from TOAMs highlighted the need for reining in drug prices and capping out-of-pocket spending.