Impact of Medicaid expansion on the multimodal treatment of biliary tract cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The impact of Medicaid expansion (ME) on the treatment of patients with cancer remains controversial, especially individuals requiring complex multidisciplinary care. We sought to evaluate the impact of Medicaid expansion (ME) on receipt of multimodal care, including surgical resection, for Stage I-III biliary tract cancer (BTC). METHODS: Patients diagnosed with BTC between 40 and 65 years of age were identified from the National Cancer Database and divided into pre- (2008-2012) and post- (2015-2018) ME cohorts. Difference-in-difference (DID) analysis was used to determine the impact of ME on the utilization of surgery and multimodal chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy treatment for BTC. RESULTS: Among 12,415 patients with BTC (extrahepatic, n = 5622, 45.3%; intrahepatic, n = 4352, 35.1%; gallbladder, n = 1944, 15.7%; overlapping, n = 497, 4.0%), 5835 (47.0%) and 6580 (53.0%) patients were diagnosed before versus after ME, respectively. Overall utilization of surgery (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.26) and multimodality therapy (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.27) increased in states that adopted ME. Utilization of surgery among uninsured/Medicaid patients in ME states increased relative to patients living in non-ME states (∆+10.1%, p = 0.01). Similarly, the use of multimodal treatment increased among uninsured/Medicaid patients living in ME versus non-ME states (∆+6.4%, p = 0.04); in contrast, there were no difference among patients with other insurance statuses (overall: ∆+1.5%, private: ∆-2.0%, other: ∆+3.9%, all p > 0.5). Uninsured/Medicaid patients with BTC who lived in a ME state had a lower risk of long-term death in the post-ME era (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67-0.98; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of ME positively impacted survival among patients who underwent surgical and multimodal treatment for Stage I-III BTC.

Predictors and Prognostic Significance of Postoperative Complications for Patients with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic impact of major postoperative complications (POCs) for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains ill-defined. We sought to analyze the relationship between POCs and outcomes relative to lymph node metastases (LNM) and tumor burden score (TBS). METHODS: Patients who underwent resection of ICC between 1990-2020 were included from an international database. POCs were defined according to Clavien-Dindo classification ≥ 3. The prognostic impact of POCs was estimated relative to TBS categories (i.e., high and low) and lymph node status (i.e., N0 or N1). RESULTS: Among 553 patients who underwent curative-intent resection for ICC, 128 (23.1%) individuals experienced POCs. Low TBS/N0 patients who experienced POCs presented with a higher risk of recurrence and death (3-year cumulative recurrence rate; POCs: 74.8% vs. no POCs: 43.5%, p = 0.006; 5-year overall survival [OS], POCs 37.8% vs. no POCs 65.8%, p = 0.003), while POCs were not associated with worse outcomes among high TBS and/or N1 patients. The Cox regression analysis confirmed that POCs were significant predictors of poor outcomes in low TBS/N0 patients (OS, hazard ratio [HR] 2.91, 95%CI 1.45-5.82, p = 0.003; recurrence free survival [RFS], HR 2.42, 95%CI 1.28-4.56, p = 0.007). Among low TBS/N0 patients, POCs were associated with early recurrence (within 2 years) (Odds ratio [OR] 2.79 95%CI 1.13-6.93, p = 0.03) and extrahepatic recurrence (OR 3.13, 95%CI 1.14-8.54, p = 0.03), in contrast to patients with high TBS and/or nodal disease. CONCLUSIONS: POCs were independent, negative prognostic determinants for both OS and RFS among low TBS/N0 patients. Perioperative strategies that minimize the risk of POCs are critical to improving prognosis, especially among patients harboring favorable clinicopathologic features.

The Impact of a Liver Transplant Program on the Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the impact of liver transplantation (LT) programs on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who underwent liver resection (LR) and noncurative intent treatment. BACKGROUND: LT programs have an array of resources and services that would positively affect the prognosis of patients with HCC. METHODS: Patients who underwent LT, LR, radiotherapy (RT), or chemotherapy (CTx) for HCC between 2004 and 2018 were included in the National Cancer Database. Institutions with LT programs were defined as those that performed 1 or more LT for at least 5 years. Centers were stratified by hospital volume. The impact of LT programs was assessed after propensity score matching to achieve covariate balance. RESULTS: A total of 71,735 patients were identified, of which 7997 received LT (11.1%), 12,683 LR (17.7%), 15,675 RT (21.9%), and 35,380 CTx (49.3%). Among a total of 1267 distinct institutions, 94 (7.4%) were categorized as LT programs. Designation as an LT program was also associated with a high volume of LR and noncurative intent treatment (both P <0.001). After propensity score matching, LT programs were associated with better survival among LR and noncurative intent treatment patients. Although hospital volume was also associated with improved prognosis, LT programs were associated with additional survival benefits in noncurative intent treatment. On the other hand, no such benefit was noted in patients who underwent LR. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of an LT program was associated with a higher volume of LR and noncurative intent treatment. Furthermore, designation as an LT program had a "halo effect" on the prognosis of patients undergoing RT/CTx that went beyond the procedure-volume effect.

Simultaneous versus staged resection for synchronous colorectal liver metastases: The win ratio approach.

INTRODUCTION: In order to investigate the optimal approach for synchronous colorectal liver metastases (sCRLM), we sought to use the "win ratio" (WR), a novel statistical approach, to assess the relative benefit of simultaneous versus staged surgical treatment. METHODS: Patients who underwent hepatectomy for sCRLM between 2008 and 2020 were identified from a multi-institutional database. The WR approach was utilized to compare composite outcomes of patients undergoing simultaneous versus staged resection. RESULTS: Among 1116 patients, 642 (57.5%) presented with sCRLM; 290 (45.2%) underwent simultaneous resection, while 352 (54.8%) underwent staged resection. In assessing the composite outcome, staged resection yielded a WR of 1.59 (95%CI 1.47-1.71) over the simultaneous approach for sCRLM. The highest WR occurred among patients requiring major hepatectomy (WR = 1.93, 95%CI 1.77-2.10) compared with patients who required minor liver resection (WR = 1.55, 95%CI 1.44-1.70). CONCLUSIONS: Staged resection was superior to simultaneous resection for sCRLM based on a WR assessment.