The Effect of Race on Outcomes in Veterans With Hepatocellular Carcinoma at a Single Center.

Background: Black patients have a higher incidence and mortality associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with that of White patients in many retrospective analyses. This study sought to determine whether veterans treated for HCC at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Tennessee showed similar disparities in terms of stage at diagnosis, type of therapy received, and overall survival (OS). Methods: A retrospective review evaluated 132 White and 95 Black patients treated for HCC between 2009 and 2021. We evaluated the impact on OS of age, sex, comorbidities, tumor stage, α-fetoprotein level, method of diagnosis, first-line treatment, systemic treatment, and surgical options offered. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to investigate differences in OS and cumulative hazard ratio for death. Cox regression multivariate analysis evaluated discrepancies among investigated variables. Results: The study found no significant difference in OS between Black and White veterans with HCC. Significant differences were found in who received surgical treatment and systemic therapy. More White veterans received any form of treatment compared with Black veterans (P < .001), and White veterans were more likely to undergo surgical resection and transplant (P = .052). There was no significant difference between age or stage at diagnosis, receipt of systemic therapy, alcohol, tobacco or drug use, HIV coinfection, or cirrhosis. Conclusions: Black veterans with HCC at the Memphis VAMC were less likely to receive any form of treatment, surgical resection, or transplant compared with White veterans, but this did not have a statistically significant effect on OS.

Pattern of use of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer: a single-institution experience.

PURPOSE: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines define high-risk prognostic features (HRFs) in stage II colon cancer and recommend limiting adjuvant chemotherapy to patients with HRFs. We evaluated the extent to which HRFs influenced decisions on adjuvant chemotherapy before and after publication of the guidelines. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed data from 100 consecutive patients with stage II colon cancer resected between January 2000 and June 2007. Practice pattern in the pre-guideline era (2000 through 2004) was compared with the post-guideline era (2005-2007). RESULTS: The median age of the cohort was 65.8 years. A total of 60 patients had > or = 1 HRF. Overall, 38% of the patients with HRFs did not receive chemotherapy; 37.5% without HRFs did. Seventy-one percent of the patients given adjuvant chemotherapy had HRFs versus 48% of the patients not given chemotherapy. There was no association between the presence/absence of HRFs and chemotherapy (P = .25). The association between number of HRFs per individual and chemotherapy was significant (P = .0255). Bowel obstruction and T4 disease were the only individual HRFs significantly associated with chemotherapy (P = .0059 and .0294, respectively). A significant drop in use of chemotherapy for all patients occurred after publication of the guidelines, but this was caused mostly by a drop in treatment for patients with HRFs from 80% to 36% (P = .001). CONCLUSION: Decisions for or against adjuvant chemotherapy did not adhere completely to ASCO guidelines. Publication of the guidelines led to a significant drop in appropriate use of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk patients.

Pattern of Use of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage II Colon Cancer: A Single-Institution Experience.

Purpose: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines define high-risk prognostic features (HRFs) in stage II colon cancer and recommend limiting adjuvant chemotherapy to patients with HRFs. We evaluated the extent to which HRFs influenced decisions on adjuvant chemotherapy before and after publication of the guidelines. Patients and Methods: We reviewed data from 100 consecutive patients with stage II colon cancer resected between January 2000 and June 2007. Practice pattern in the pre-guideline era (2000 through 2004) was compared with the postguideline era (2005-2007). Results: The median age of the cohort was 65.8 years. A total of 60 patients had >/= 1 HRF. Overall, 38% of the patients with HRFs did not receive chemotherapy; 37.5% without HRFs did. Seventy-one percent of the patients given adjuvant chemotherapy had HRFs versus 48% of the patients not given chemotherapy. There was no association between the presence/absence of HRFs and chemotherapy (P = .25). The association between number of HRFs per individual and chemotherapy was significant (P = .0255). Bowel obstruction and T4 disease were the only individual HRFs significantly associated with chemotherapy (P = .0059 and .0294, respectively). A significant drop in use of chemotherapy for all patients occurred after publication of the guidelines, but this was caused mostly by a drop in treatment for patients with HRFs from 80% to 36% (P = .001). Conclusion: Decisions for or against adjuvant chemotherapy did not adhere completely to ASCO guidelines. Publication of the guidelines led to a significant drop in appropriate use of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk patients.