Survival after hepatic resection in metastatic colorectal cancer: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Hepatectomy is the standard of care for patients with colorectal cancer who have isolated hepatic metastases; however, the long-term survival benefits of hepatectomy in this population have not been characterized well outside of case series. For the current study, a population-based database was used to compare the survival of patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer who did and did not undergo hepatectomy. METHODS: Patients aged >or=65 years with incident colorectal cancer who were diagnosed from 1991 to 2001 were identified from the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database. Liver metastasis diagnoses, colorectal resections, and hepatectomies were identified from hospital, outpatient, and physician-supplier claims. Patients who did not undergo colorectal resection were excluded. Five-year survival from the time of cancer diagnosis was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate survival. RESULTS: Among 13,599 patients who were identified with incident colorectal cancer and liver metastases, 7673 patients (56.4%) presented with stage IV disease, and the remaining patients presented with earlier stage disease and developed subsequent metastases. Only 833 patients (6.1%) in the cohort underwent hepatic resection, and their 30-day mortality rate was 4.3%. The 5-year survival was 32.8% among patients who underwent hepatic resection, compared with 10.5% among patients who did not undergo hepatic resection (P < .0001), and better survival was observed in the subset of patients who presented initially with disease in stages I through III. In a Cox model, which was controlled for age, sex, race, comorbidities, and stage at presentation, lack of hepatic resection was associated with a 2.78-fold increased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: Although hepatectomy rates among patients with colorectal cancer were low, hepatic resection was associated with improved survival.

Temporal trends in colorectal procedure use after colorectal cancer resection.

BACKGROUND: After curative cancer resection, routine colon surveillance is recommended. It is not known whether trends over time in cancer survivors parallel that of the general population. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to describe temporal changes in the use of posttreatment procedures. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Linked tumor registry and Medicare claims data. PATIENTS: Medicare beneficiaries >65 years old who were diagnosed with local or regional stage colorectal cancer from 1992-2002 and who underwent surgical resection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Use of colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or barium enema within 1 year, 18 months, or 3 years of diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 62,882 patients were followed up for 1 year and 35,784 for 3 years. Colonoscopy within 1 year was performed in 25.9%, within 18 months in 53.8%, and within 3 years in 70.3%. Corresponding rates for sigmoidoscopy were 7.4%, 10.2%, and 14.9%, respectively, and were 3.4%, 5.1%, and 7.9%, respectively, for barium enema. There was a decrease over time in the receipt of colonoscopy within 1 year of diagnosis (31.3% in 1992 to 20.6% in 2002), no change in 18-month rates, and a smaller increase in colonoscopy use within 3 years (66.5% to 72.3%). The use of sigmoidoscopy and barium enema declined over time. Overall procedure use within 1 year and 18 months also decreased and 3-year rates were essentially unchanged. These differences were maintained in multivariate analyses. LIMITATIONS: Accuracy of procedure coding and indications for tests could not be measured. CONCLUSIONS: Temporal trends in procedure use in cancer survivors were consistent with the general population. Importantly, despite guideline recommendations and Medicare reimbursement, 25% of patients who undergo curative treatment do not receive surveillance examinations and this was unchanged over time.

Diabetes treatment among VA patients with comorbid serious mental illness.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychoses, may be less likely to receive adequate care for chronic medical conditions than patients without serious mental illness. The quality and outcomes of diabetes care were compared in an observational study among patients with and without serious mental illness. METHODS: National data were studied for 36,546 individuals receiving care within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. Widely used diabetes quality-of-care measures and intermediate outcomes were compared for patients with diabetes and serious mental illness and age-matched patients with diabetes who did not have a serious mental illness. Patients' use of health services was also examined. RESULTS: During fiscal year 1998, patients with diabetes and serious mental illness were as likely as patients with diabetes alone to have their hemoglobin A1c, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and cholesterol measured; both groups had comparable A1c, LDL, and cholesterol values. Patients with diabetes and serious mental illness had more outpatient visits, both primary care and specialty visits, and made more multiclinic visits, including visits to both primary care and mental health services on the same day. CONCLUSIONS: In the VA, patients with diabetes and serious mental illness appear to receive diabetes care that is comparable with the care that other patients with diabetes receive, possibly because of increased levels of contact with the health system and the VA's integration of medical and mental health services.

Endoscopic ultrasonography and prognosis of esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) staging is used for management of esophageal cancer, but its effect on the outcome of patients is unknown. Our aim was to study the association of receipt of EUS and overall survival in a cohort of patients with esophageal cancer. METHODS: All persons 65 years or older who were diagnosed with esophageal cancer between January 1994 and December 1999 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database were identified. Relevant demographic, cancer-specific information and EUS procedural information were extracted. RESULTS: Two thousand eight hundred thirty patients with esophageal cancer (48% squamous cell cancer) were eligible for analysis. Only 303 (10.7%) patients underwent a EUS examination. Patients who had EUS evaluation were more likely to undergo esophageal resection (21.1% vs 14.7%, P = .01) and more likely to have received adjuvant therapy (11.2% vs 6.7%, P = .008). When adjusted for age at diagnosis, race, gender, comorbidity, histology, and tumor stage, receipt of EUS was associated with a reduced risk of death (relative hazard, 0.594; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-0.68; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Undergoing EUS in patients with esophageal cancer is independently associated with improved survival, possibly because of improved stage-appropriate management such as use of adjuvant therapy and surgical resection.

Receipt of colorectal testing prior to colorectal carcinoma diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Among patients with established colorectal carcinoma, the prior use of procedures for colorectal carcinoma screening is unknown. In addition, the association of disease stage at the time of diagnosis with previous procedure use has not been studied previously at a population level. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results tumor registry files identified 5806 patients age >or=70 years with an initial colorectal carcinoma diagnosis in 1999. Medicare claims data from 1995 through diagnosis were extracted and identified receipt of fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and barium enema. Time intervals were divided into >6 months prior to diagnosis and or=1 procedures >6 months before diagnosis, with FOBT the most frequent procedure (36%). Colonoscopy was performed in only 6% of patients prior to the 6-month peridiagnostic period. Compared with patients who underwent no procedures or who underwent procedures only within 6 months of diagnosis, those who underwent procedures >6 months earlier presented with earlier stages of carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: The receipt of colorectal procedures in the interval >6 months prior to a diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma was low, suggesting the under use of screening in this population. The association of procedure use with earlier stage at presentation as well as unmeasured benefits in reducing carcinoma incidence suggest beneficial effects of this testing.