The intersection of race and social determinants of health on clinical outcome of glioblastoma patients.

OBJECTIVE: Resection, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tumor treating fields significantly increase the overall survival (OS) of glioblastoma (GBM) patients. Yet, cost and healthcare disparities might limit access. Multiple studies have attributed more than 80% of the GBM disease burden to White patients. The aim of this study was to explore the intersections of race and social determinants of health (SDoH) with healthcare access and outcomes of GBM patients in a large metropolitan area. METHODS: In this retrospective single-center study, the tumor registry at the authors' institution (2011-2019) was queried to identify a GBM cohort according to the updated WHO criteria. Data were supplemented by electronic health records to include demographics, outcome, National Cancer Institute Comorbidity Index (NCI-CI), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) socioeconomic status (SES) index. RESULTS: A total of 276 unique patients met the study inclusion criteria; 46% of the cohort was female, and 45% was non-White. This racial proportion differs from previous reports indicating that 80% of patients with GBM are White. The proportion of non-White patients in this study was similar to that of the general US population and significantly lower than that of New York City (p < 0.05). Non-White patients predominantly composed the lowest AHRQ SES index quartile, while White patients constituted the highest quartile (p < 0.001). White patients were older at diagnosis compared with non-White patients (63 vs 58 years, p = 0.001). Older age (p = 0.03), higher NCI-CI (p = 0.0006), and lack of insurance (p = 0.03) reduced the odds of a home discharge. Private insurance (p = 0.005), younger age (p = 0.02), and the highest ("wealthiest") AHRQ SES index quartile (p = 0.02) predicted a lower hospital length of stay (LOS). Patients who underwent gross-total resection had greater OS than those who received a subtotal resection or biopsy, independent of race and SDoH (1.68 vs 1.4 years, p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to report on race and SDoH of a cohort using the latest WHO criteria for GBM classification. In contrast to previous literature, the study cohort exhibits a higher proportion of non-White patients with GBM, similar to the representation of non-White individuals in the general US population. This study corroborates the impact of SDoH and not race on LOS and discharge location. Initiatives to identify and address these barriers are crucial for enhancing the care of all GBM patients.

Emotional and Financial Stressors in New York City During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Consecutive Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Mental and financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was severe, but how vulnerable groups have been disproportionately impacted is incompletely understood. In partnership with community stakeholders, we administered a web-based survey to a convenience sample of New York City residents (18 + years) from May 2020 to April 2021 to evaluate their financial and emotional stressors. We analyzed outcomes by race, ethnicity, and education level. A total of 1854 adults completed the survey across three consecutive non-overlapping samples. Fifty-five percent identified other than non-Latinx White. Sixty-four percent reported emotional stress; 38%, 32%, and 32% reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder respectively; and 21% reported a large adverse financial impact. The leading unmet needs were mental health and food services (both 19%), and health services (18%). Need for both resources grew over time. Adverse financial impact directly correlated with presence of all four adverse mental health outcomes above. In multivariate analysis, non-White race and lack of college degree were associated with adverse financial impact, whereas LGBT identity and lack of college degree were associated with mental health impact. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, participants in this research demonstrated a large and growing mental and financial strain, disproportionately associated with lower education level, non-White race, and LGBT status. Our findings suggest an urgent need to differentially target COVID-19 mental health and resource support in New York City to persons in these vulnerable communities.

Approaches to developing de novo cancer population models to examine questions about cancer and race in bladder, gastric, and endometrial cancer and multiple myeloma: the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network incubator program.

BACKGROUND: We are developing 10 de novo population-level mathematical models in 4 malignancies (multiple myeloma and bladder, gastric, and uterine cancers). Each of these sites has documented disparities in outcome that are believed to be downstream effects of systemic racism. METHODS: Ten models are being independently developed as part of the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network incubator program. These models simulate trends in cancer incidence, early diagnosis, treatment, and mortality for the general population and are stratified by racial subgroup. Model inputs are based on large population datasets, clinical trials, and observational studies. Some core parameters are shared, and other parameters are model specific. All models are microsimulation models that use self-reported race to stratify model inputs. They can simulate the distribution of relevant risk factors (eg, smoking, obesity) and insurance status (for multiple myeloma and uterine cancer) in US birth cohorts and population. DISCUSSION: The models aim to refine approaches in prevention, detection, and management of 4 cancers given uncertainties and constraints. They will help explore whether the observed racial disparities are explainable by inequities, assess the effects of existing and potential cancer prevention and control policies on health equity and disparities, and identify policies that balance efficiency and fairness in decreasing cancer mortality.

Facilitators of Multiple Myeloma Treatment: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine factors that lead to the facilitation of multiple myeloma (MM) treatment. SAMPLE & SETTING: 29 patients who had been diagnosed with MM at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. METHODS & VARIABLES: Semistructured qualitative interviews were administered by trained research staff. Interview topics included illness beliefs, illness experiences, treatment experiences, and treatment decision-making. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Four coders independently coded the transcripts, and the authors analyzed data using interpretive description. RESULTS: The following facilitators of treatment were identified: (a) healthcare team trust and support, (b) personal resilience and initiative-taking, and (c) external support (emotional/social support and instrumental/organizational support). Healthcare team trust and support were established through rapport-building and compassion, accessibility and time spent with the patient, shared decision-making, and provider reputation. Personal resilience was manifested by patients through positive attitudes, taking control of their illness, and self-advocacy. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Understanding factors that facilitate MM treatment may lead to better patient outcomes and can potentially inform oncology nursing practice by providing a framework for tailored health education and care management practices for patients with MM.

What Affects Treatment Underuse in Multiple Myeloma in the United States: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy. African Americans are more likely than Whites to be diagnosed with and die of MM, but they experience the same survival times in clinical trials, suggesting that differences in survival may be attributed to differences in receipt of treatment or differences in access to new treatments. We undertook this study to identify the reasons and needs underlying disparities in treatment among patients diagnosed with MM. METHODS: We conducted in-depth interviews in 2019-2020 with patients diagnosed with MM between 2010 and 2014 who were identified as eligible for transplant and maintenance therapy and having experienced delays in or underuse of treatment for MM. Underuse was defined as the lack of a particular treatment that the patient was eligible to receive, not being transplanted if eligible, and/or not receiving maintenance therapy. Underuse included patients' decision to delay harvest or autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) for the time being and return to the decision in the future. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Four investigators independently coded transcripts through inductive analysis to assess reasons for treatment decisions. RESULTS: Of the 29 patients interviewed, 68% experienced treatment underuse: 21% self-identified as African American, 5% as Hispanic, 10% as mixed race, 57% as White, and 16% as Asian. There were no racial differences in reasons for underuse or delay. Themes relating to treatment underuse included: perceived pros and cons of treatment, including potential harm or lack thereof in delaying treatment; physician recommendations; and personal agency. CONCLUSION: Patients' decision making, delays, and underuse of MM treatment are influenced by social, personal, medical, and contextual factors. Patients consider their relationship with their physician to be one of the most significant driving forces in their decisions and treatment plans.

Subjective social status, race, and metabolic syndrome in women with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association of subjective social status (SSS) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) severity and its potential contribution to racial health disparities in women with breast cancer. METHODS: Multicenter cross-sectional study (10 US hospitals) in women (n = 1206) with primary diagnosis of invasive breast cancer received during Mar/2013-Feb/2020. Participants, self-identified as non-Hispanic White or Black, underwent physical and laboratory examinations and survey questions assessing socioeconomic parameters, medical history, and behavioral risks. SSS was measured with the 10-rung MacArthur scale. MetS severity was measured with a validated Z-Score. Generalized linear mixed modeling was used to analyze the associations. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation. RESULTS: Average age was 58 years. On average, the SSS of Black women, given equivalent level of income and education, was lower than the SSS of White women: 6.6 (6.1-7.0) vs 7.7 (7.54-7.79) among college graduates and 6.8 (6.4-7.2) vs 7.6 (7.5-7.8) among women in the high-income category (> $75,000). In multivariable analysis, after controlling for age, income, education, diet, and physical activity, increasing SSS was associated with a decrease in MetS-Z score, - 0.10 (- 0.16 to - 0.04) per every 2 rung increase in the MacArthur scale. CONCLUSION: Black women with breast cancer rank their SSS lower than White women with breast cancer do at each level of income and education. As SSS is strongly associated with MetS severity these results identify potentially modifiable factors that contribute to racial disparities.

Cancer beliefs and screening behaviors: The impact of neighborhood and other social determinants of health.

Background: Beliefs about cancer influence breast and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening behavior. Screening rates for these cancers differ in the contiguous neighborhoods of East Harlem (EH), Central Harlem (CH), and the Upper East Side (UES), which have distinct socio-demographic compositions. We assessed the belief-screening behavior relationship in these neighborhoods. Methods: The 2019 Community Cancer Needs Survey included adults eligible for breast and/or colorectal cancer screening. Raking was used to generate neighborhood-specific distribution estimates. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-square tests. Stepwise logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between cancer beliefs and screening. Results: Our weighted sample included 147,726 respondents. Screening was 75% in CH, 81% in EH, and 90% in the UES for breast cancer, and 71%, 76%, and 92% for CRC, respectively. The fatalistic belief "There's not much you can do to lower your chances of getting cancer" differed by neighborhood with screening more likely in CH respondents (breast OR =1.45 and colorectal OR =1.11), but less likely in EH (OR= 0.77 and 0.37, respectively). UES ORs were not generated due to too few unscreened respondents. Conclusions: Cancer beliefs were inconsistently associated with breast and CRC screening across three NYC neighborhoods. This suggests that a given belief may either motivate or deter screening, depending upon context or interpretation. Once access is addressed, efforts seeking to enhance screening rates should consider implications of communities' varying beliefs.

Centralization of Initial Care and Improved Survival of Poor Patients With Breast Cancer.

PURPOSE: Poor women with breast cancer have worse survival than others, and are more likely to undergo surgery in low-volume facilities. We leveraged a natural experiment to study the effectiveness of a policy intervention undertaken by New York (NY) state in 2009 that precluded payment for breast cancer surgery for NY Medicaid beneficiaries treated in facilities performing fewer than 30 breast cancer surgeries annually. METHODS: We identified 37,822 women with stage I-III breast cancer during 2004-2008 or 2010-2013 and linked them to NY hospital discharge data. A multivariable difference-in-differences approach compared mortality of Medicaid insured patients with that of commercially or otherwise insured patients unaffected by the policy. RESULTS: Women treated during the postpolicy years had slightly lower 5-year overall mortality than those treated prepolicy; the survival gain was significantly larger for Medicaid patients (P = .018). Women enrolled in Medicaid had a greater reduction than others in breast cancer-specific mortality (P = .005), but no greater reduction in other causes of death (P = .50). Adjusted breast cancer mortality among women covered by Medicaid declined from 6.6% to 4.5% postpolicy, while breast cancer mortality among other women fell from 3.9% to 3.8%. A similar effect was not observed among New Jersey Medicaid patients with breast cancer treated during the same years. CONCLUSION: A statewide centralization policy discouraging initial care for breast cancer in low-volume facilities was associated with better survival for the Medicaid population targeted. Given these impressive results and those from prior research, other policymakers should consider adopting comparable policies to improve breast cancer outcomes.[Media: see text].

Insulin resistance and racial disparities in breast cancer prognosis: a multi-center cohort study.

The survival for breast cancer (BC) is improving but remains lower in Black women than White women. A number of factors potentially drive the racial differences in BC outcomes. The aim of our study was to determine if insulin resistance (defined as homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)), mediated part of the relationship between race and BC prognosis (defined by the improved Nottingham prognostic index (iNPI)). We performed a cross-sectional study, recruiting self-identified Black and White women with newly diagnosed primary invasive BC from 10 US hospitals between March 2013 and February 2020. Survey, anthropometric, laboratory, and tumor pathology data were gathered, and we compared the results between Black and White women. We calculated HOMA-IR as well as iNPI scores and examined the associations between HOMA-IR and iNPI. After exclusions, the final cohort was 1206: 911 (76%) White and 295 (24%) Black women. Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance were more common in Black than White women. Black women had less lobular BC, three times more triple-negative BC, and BCs with higher stage and iNPI scores than White women (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). Fewer Black women had BC genetic testing performed. HOMA-IR mediated part of the association between race and iNPI, particularly in BCs that carried a good prognosis and were hormone receptor (HR)-positive. Higher HOMA-IR scores were associated with progesterone receptor-negative BC in White women but not Black women. Overall, our results suggest that HOMA-IR contributes to the racial disparities in BC outcomes, particularly for women with HR-positive BCs.

Racial differences in weight perception among Black and White women diagnosed with breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Black women are more likely than White women to have obesity, and obesity is associated with worse breast cancer prognosis. Weight perception, however, has not been studied as a potential mediator of obesity disparities in women with breast cancer. In this study, we sought to describe racial differences and the association of lifestyle factors with weight perception. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study design, Black and White women with a new primary breast cancer were surveyed about socio-demographics, weight perception, diet, and exercise habits. Height and weight were measured at enrollment. We classified women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 or waist circumference ≥ 88 cm who reported that they were "about the right weight" as under-perceivers. Chi-square and t tests were used to assess study variables (e.g., race, physical activity) associated with under-perception of weight. Logistic regression models were fit to evaluate for racial differences in under-perception while controlling for other covariates. RESULTS: Of 1,197 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, the average age was 58 years, and 909 (75.9%) were White. Nine hundred eighteen (77%) had stage I cancer, 1,035 (87%) had estrogen receptor positive cancer, and 795 (66%) were privately insured at time of diagnosis. Seven hundred eighty-nine (66%) women had abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥ 88 cm), while 366 (31%) women had a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Overall, 24% of women were under-perceivers. Compared to White women, Black women with WC ≥ 88 cm more frequently under-perceived their weight (24% vs. 14% p < 0.0001) were more obese with BMI > 30 kg/m2 (51% vs. 23%, p < 0.0001) and had lower physical activity (22% vs. 77%, p < 0.0001). After controlling for age, education, and stage, Black women remained more likely to under-perceive their weight relative to White women for those with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.4-4.6) or waist circumference ≥ 88 cm (OR: 2.89; 95% CI: 1.8-4.5). With respect to lifestyle factors, among women with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, those who met physical activity guidelines were less likely to under-perceive their weight compared to those who did not meet physical activity guidelines (OR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.2-0.6), regardless of race. CONCLUSIONS: We found racial differences in weight perception and identified social determinants and lifestyle factors such as lower education and physical inactivity that influenced under-perception of weight among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Since obesity is associated with worse breast cancer outcomes, identifying optimal modifiable factors to intervene upon to support weight management among breast cancer survivors is clinically important. Breast cancer patients' perceptions about their weight provide insight that may inform lifestyle behavior interventions to reduce obesity during survivorship care.

Improving Patient Race and Ethnicity Data Capture to Address Health Disparities: A Case Study From a Large Urban Health System.

While research and efforts to promote health equity abound, the persistence of disparities by race and ethnicity underscores the limitations of fragmented interventions and the need for systematic, multipronged approaches to health equity. The foundational step towards reducing health disparities is the establishment of the basic information needed to identify and measure those differences, i.e., the accurate capture of race and ethnicity information of all patients. To that end, we present a case study outlining a multifaceted approach for improving the capture of race and ethnicity data in an outpatient setting culminating in a 76% improvement in the completeness of this information. The effectiveness of this plan and its scalability within a large urban health system may benefit similar institutions seeking to improve the collection of race and ethnicity information and the reliability of their data. To this aim, we present an approach relying on the assessment and evaluation of system needs, modification of data infrastructure to align with goals, training, and education of relevant stakeholders, implementation and responsive action to results, and acknowledging limitations and lessons learned. We emphasize that cross-departmental collaboration, stakeholder engagement, institutional support, and culture of anti-racism were essential to the success of this initiative.

Preventable Readmissions Following Common Cancer Surgeries: Lessons Learned from New York State and Targets for Improvement.

BACKGROUND: Potentially preventable readmissions of surgical oncology patients offer opportunities to improve quality of care. Identifying and subsequently addressing remediable causes of readmissions may improve patient-centered care. OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with potentially preventable readmissions after index cancer operation. METHODS: The New York State hospital discharge database was used to identify patients undergoing common cancer operations via principal diagnosis and procedure codes between the years 2010 and 2014. The 30-day readmissions were identified and risk factors for potentially preventable readmissions were analyzed using competing risk analysis. RESULTS: A total of 53,740 cancer surgeries performed for the following tumor types were analyzed: colorectal (CRC) (42%), kidney (22%), liver (2%), lung (25%), ovary (4%), pancreas (4%), and uterine (1%). The 30-day readmission rate was 11.97%, 47% of which were identified as potentially preventable. The most common cause of potentially preventable readmissions was sepsis (48%). Pancreatic cancer had the highest overall readmission rate (22%) and CRC had the highest percentage of potentially preventable readmissions (51%, hazard ratio [HR] 1.42, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.28-1.61). Risk factors associated with preventable readmissions included discharge disposition to a skilled nursing facility (HR 2.22, 95%CI 1.99-2.48) and the need for home healthcare (HR 1.61, 95%CI 1.48-1.75). CONCLUSIONS: Almost half of the 30-day readmissions were potentially preventable and attributed to high rates of sepsis, surgical site infections, dehydration, and electrolyte disorders. These results can be further validated for identifying broad targets for improvement.

Do Patients With Multiple Myeloma Enrolled in Clinical Trials Live Longer?

OBJECTIVES: Enrollment in clinical trials is thought to improve survival outcomes through the trial effect. In this retrospective observational cohort study, we aimed to discern differences in survival outcomes by clinical trial enrollment and race-ethnicity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 1285 patients receiving care for multiple myeloma at an National Cancer Institute designated cancer center from 2012 to 2018, 1065 (83%) were nontrial and 220 (17%) were trial participants. Time to event analyses were used to adjust for baseline characteristics and account for clinical trial enrollment as a time-varying covariate. We analyzed propensity-matched cohorts of trial and nontrial patients to reduce potential bias in observational data. RESULTS: Trial patients were younger (mean age in years: 60 vs. 63; P<0.001), underwent more lines of therapy (treatment lines ≥6: 39% vs. 17%; P<0.001), and had more comorbidities than nontrial patients. After controlling for baseline characteristics and clinical trial enrollment as a time-varying covariate, no significant difference in survival was found between trial and nontrial participants (hazard ratio [HR]=1.34, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 0.90-1.99), or between propensity-matched trial and nontrial participants (205 patients in each cohort, HR=1.36, 95% CIs: 0.83-2.23). Subgroup analyses by lines of therapy confirmed results from overall analyses. We did not observe survival differences by race-ethnicity (Logrank P=0.09), though hazard of death was significantly increased for nontrial Black/Hispanic patients compared with trial White patients (HR=1.76, 95% CIs=1.01-3.08). CONCLUSIONS: This study did not find evidence of a significant survival benefit to trial enrollment among patients with multiple myeloma. Patients enrolled in clinical trials underwent more lines of therapy, suggesting they may have had more treatment-resistant cancers. A small survival benefit in this cohort may be obscured by the lack of difference in survival between trial and nontrial patients.

Multiple myeloma, race, insurance and treatment.

PURPOSE: Multiple Myeloma (MM), the second leading blood malignancy, has complex and costly disease management. We studied patterns of treatment disparities and unplanned interruptions among the MM patients after the Affordable Care Act to assess their prevalence and effect on survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study of 1002 MM patients at a tertiary referral center used standard guidelines as a reference to identify underuse of effective treatments. We used multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportionate hazard to study the prognostic effect on survival. RESULTS: Median age in the cohort was 63.0 [IQR: 14] years. Non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients were older (p = 0.007) and more likely to present with stage I disease (p = 0.02). Underuse of maintenance therapy (aOR = 1.98; 95 % CI 1.12-3.48) and interruptions in treatment were associated with race/ethnicity and insurance (aOR = 4.14; 95 % CI: 1.78-9.74). Only underuse of induction therapy was associated with overall patient survival. CONCLUSION: Age, race, ethnicity and primary insurance contribute to the underuse of treatment and in unplanned interruptions in MM treatment. Addressing underuse causes in such patients is warranted.

Association of Insulin Resistance and Higher Oncotype DX™ Recurrence Score.

BACKGROUND: Black women with breast cancer have a worse overall survival compared with White women; however, no difference in Oncotype DX™ (ODX) recurrence scores has been observed to explain this health disparity. Black women are also disproportionately affected by insulin resistance. We evaluated whether insulin resistance is associated with a higher ODX recurrence score and whether there is a difference between White and Black women to explain disparate clinical outcomes. METHODS: A subgroup analysis of patients in a multi-institutional cross-sectional study evaluating differences in insulin resistance between White and Black women was performed. Women diagnosed with a new hormone receptor-positive, HER2/neu-negative breast cancer with an ODX recurrence score were identified. Fasting blood glucose and insulin measurements were used to calculate the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score, a method for assessing insulin resistance, and compared against ODX scores. RESULTS: Overall, 412 women (358 White women, 54 Black women) were identified. Compared with White women, Black women had a higher body mass index (30 vs. 26 kg/m2, p < 0.0001), higher HOMA-IR score (2.4 vs. 1.4, p = 0.004), and more high-grade tumors (30% vs. 16%, p = 0.01). There was a direct positive association with an increasing ODX score and HOMA-IR (p = 0.014). On subset analysis, this relationship was seen in White women (p = 0.005), but not in Black women (p = 0.55). CONCLUSION: In women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, increasing insulin resistance is associated with a higher recurrence score; however, this association was not present in Black women. This lack of association may be due to the small number of Black women in the cohort, or possibly a reflection of a different biological disease process of the patient's tumor.

Impact of a Novel Goals-of-Care Communication Skills Coaching Intervention for Practicing Oncologists.

Background: Oncologists routinely have opportunities for goals-of-care (GoC) discussions with patients. GoC discussions increase the likelihood that patients receive care consistent with their values. However, oncologists often feel ill-equipped to discuss end-of-life care. Objective: To assess the impact of a communication training and coaching intervention (INT) for oncologists during GoC discussions. Design: We randomized oncologists to usual care (UC) or a communication skills training INT, which consisted of an interactive training session and four joint visits with communication coaches. Setting/Subjects: Solid tumor oncologists seeing advanced cancer patients at four hospitals in New York and Connecticut. Measurements: Three blinded coders evaluated recorded encounters before and after INT using a validated tool to assess skill attainment. Results: Oncologists (n = 22) were 32% female and averaged 46 years of age. In baseline visits, INT oncologists (n = 11) and UC oncologists (n = 11) had no difference in the number of mean skills employed out of 8 GoC skills (INT 3.5, UC 2.4; p = 0.18). Post-INT, INT oncologists were significantly more likely to elicit patient values (55% vs. 0%; p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in overall mean skills employed (INT 3.4, UC 2.2; p = 0.14). Assessing for understanding, offering "I wish" statements, and providing prognosis were the least utilized skills among all oncologists. Conclusion: Our real-time communication skills coaching INT resulted in a significant increase in oncologists' ability to elicit patient values during GoC discussions, suggesting that skill acquisition can occur in the face of less intensive training. Future studies can highlight gaps leading to the lack of differences in utilization of other skills.

Can Regionalization of Care Reduce Socioeconomic Disparities in Breast Cancer Survival?

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer patients of low socioeconomic status (SES) have worse survival than more affluent women and are also more likely to undergo surgery in low-volume facilities. Since breast cancer patients treated in high-volume facilities have better survival, regionalizing the care of low SES patients toward high-volume facilities might reduce SES disparities in survival. OBJECTIVE: We leverage a natural experiment in New York state to examine whether a policy precluding payment for breast cancer surgery for New York Medicaid beneficiaries undergoing surgery in low-volume facilities led to reduced SES disparities in mortality. RESEARCH DESIGN: A multivariable difference-in-differences regression analysis compared mortality of low SES (dual enrollees, Medicare-Medicaid) breast cancer patients to that of wealthier patients exempt from the policy (Medicare only) for time periods before and after the policy implementation. SUBJECTS: A total of 14,183 Medicare beneficiaries with breast cancer in 2006-2008 or 2014-2015. MEASURES: All-cause mortality at 3 years after diagnosis and Medicaid status, determined by Medicare administrative data. RESULTS: Both low SES and Medicare-only patients had better 3-year survival after the policy implementation. However, the decline in mortality was larger in magnitude among the low SES women than others, resulting in a 53% smaller SES survival disparity after the policy after adjustment for age, race, and comorbid illness. CONCLUSION: Regionalization of early breast cancer care away from low-volume centers may improve outcomes and reduce SES disparities in survival.

Conducting Goals-of-Care Discussions Takes Less Time Than Imagined.

PURPOSE: To describe the length of encounter during visits where goals-of-care (GoC) discussions were expected to take place. METHODS: Oncologists from community, academic, municipal, and rural hospitals were randomly assigned to receive a coaching model of communication skills to facilitate GoC discussions with patients with newly diagnosed advanced solid-tumor cancer with a prognosis of < 2 years. Patients were surveyed after the first restaging visit regarding the quality of the GoC discussion on a scale of 0-10 (0 = worst; 10 = best), with ≥ 8 indicating a high-quality GoC discussion. Visits were audiotaped, and total encounter time was measured. RESULTS: The median face-to-face time oncologists spent during a GoC discussion was 15 minutes (range, 10-20 minutes). Among the different hospital types, there was no significant difference in encounter time. There was no difference in the length of the encounter whether a high-quality GoC discussion took place or not (15 v 14 minutes; P = .9). If there was imaging evidence of cancer progression, the median encounter time was 18 minutes compared with 13 minutes for no progression (P = .03). In a multivariate model, oncologist productivity, patient age, and Medicare coverage affected duration of the encounter. CONCLUSION: Oncologists can complete high-quality GoC discussions in 15 minutes. These data refute the common misperception that discussing such matters with patients with advanced cancer requires significant time.

Where you live can impact your cancer risk: a look at multiple myeloma in New York City.

PURPOSE: To visualize variation in multiple myeloma (MM) incidence and mortality rates by race-ethnicity and geographic location and evaluate their correlation with neighborhood-level population covariates within New York City (NYC). METHODS: Trends and racial differences in MM incidence and mortality for the United States [Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Cancer Registry (SEER), National Center for Health Statistics], and NYC [New York State Cancer Registry] were compared using Joinpoint regression. Pearson's correlation coefficients measured neighborhood-level MM-covariate relationships (n = 34). RESULTS: MM incidence rates are double in African-Americans compared with Whites, in SEER-13 areas (rate ratio (RR) = 2.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.22-2.32) and NYC (RR = 2.11; 95% CI = 2.03-2.20). Incidence rates increased faster in NYC (average annual percentage change difference, -1.1; 95% CI, -2.3 to -0.1). NYC African-American men experienced the steepest increase in mortality rates after 2001. In NYC, strong neighborhood-level correlations exist between incidence and mortality rates and high prevalence of residents of African ancestry, Latin American birth, daily sugary beverage and low fruit and vegetable consumption, and neighborhood walkability. Higher MM mortality also correlates with Hispanic ethnicity, obesity, diabetes, poverty, HIV/AIDS, air benzene concentration, and indoor pesticide use. CONCLUSIONS: NYC neighborhoods with large minority populations have higher prevalence of poverty-related factors associated with MM incidence and mortality, warranting public health policies to address exposures and access to care.