Survival Among Patients With Multiple Myeloma in the United States Military Health System Compared to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program.

BACKGROUND: Access to health care is an important factor affecting survival of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in the U.S. general population. The U.S. Military Health System (MHS) provides universal health care to beneficiaries and has been associated with improved survival across multiple malignancies. In this study, we compared survival of MHS beneficiaries with MM with MM patients from the U.S. general population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Department of Defense's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) databases were used to extract data for MM patients from MHS and the U.S. general population, respectively. Patients had histologically confirmed MM between 1987 and 2013 and were followed through 2015 for overall survival. Two SEER patients were matched to each ACTUR patient by age group, sex, race, and diagnosis year group. Five and 10-year survival was compared between ACTUR and SEER patients to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) with adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS: Median survival of the ACTUR patients was 47.1 months (95% CI: 43.9-50.4) compared to 33.0 months (95% CI, 32.0-35.0) of the SEER patients. Five and 10-year death rates were significantly lower for ACTUR patients than the SEER patients with an adjusted HR of 0.74 (95% CI, 0.68-0.81) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.74-0.85), respectively. The survival advantage of ACTUR patients was preserved when stratified by age, sex, race, and diagnosis year. CONCLUSION: MHS beneficiaries with MM had improved overall survival compared to MM patients from the U.S. general population.

Racial-Ethnic Comparison of Treatment for Papillary Thyroid Cancer in the Military Health System.

PURPOSE: We aimed to compare Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White patients in treatment for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in the equal access Military Health System to better understand racial-ethnic cancer health disparities observed in the United States. METHODS: We used the MilCanEpi database to identify a cohort of men and women aged 18 or older who were diagnosed with PTC between 1998 and 2014. Low- or high-risk status was assigned using tumor size and lymph node involvement. Treatment with surgery (e.g., thyroidectomy) overall and treatment by risk status [active surveillance (low-risk) or adjuvant radioactive iodine (RAI) (high-risk)] was compared between racial-ethnic groups using multivariable logistic regression and expressed as adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: The study included 598 Asian, 553 Black, 340 Hispanic, and 2958 non-Hispanic White patients with PTC. Asian (AOR = 1.21, 95% CI 0.98, 1.49), Black (AOR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.87, 1.32), and Hispanic (AOR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.71, 1.19) patients were as likely as White patients to receive surgery. By risk status, there were no significant racial-ethnic differences in receipt of active surveillance or thyroidectomy for low-risk PTC or in thyroidectomy or total thyroidectomy with adjuvant RAI for high-risk PTC. CONCLUSIONS: In the Military Health System, where patients have equal access to care, there were no overall racial-ethnic differences in surgical treatment for PTC. As American Thyroid Association guidelines evolve to include more conservative treatment, further research is warranted to understand potential disparities in active surveillance and surgical management in U.S. healthcare settings.

Pulmonary Hypertension and Survival among Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study in the U.S. Military Health System.

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most lethal cancers with survival being closely related to stage and influenced by comorbid illness. The survival implications of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have only been evaluated in small cohorts, with limited long-term follow-up. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 7946 patients with NSCLC diagnosed in the MHS. This study evaluated the survival impact of PH in patients diagnosed with NSCLC in the MHS. Patients were classified as having and not having PH. We stratified PH into those diagnosed before the diagnosis of NSCLC and those diagnosed after NSCLC diagnosis. Results: Relative to patients without PH, patients with PH diagnosed before NSCLC had an increased risk of death (HR = 1.15 [95% CI, 1.02-1.29]). The increased risk of death was more obvious for patients with PH diagnosed after NSCLC compared with those without PH (HR = 2.74 [95% CI, 2.51-2.99]). The results were similar when stratified by patient demographics. Conclusions: In the MHS, PH is associated with worsened NSCLC survival, regardless of when it is diagnosed. When PH is diagnosed after NSCLC, it is associated with a marked reduction in survival, and this finding may suggest a potential role for monitoring pulmonary pressures in NSCLC patients. Furthermore, as specific PH therapy exists, some NSCLC patients with PH may be candidates for therapy.

Comparative Trends in the Distribution of Prostate Cancer Stage at Diagnosis in the Department of Defense Cancer Registry and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Data, 2004-2014.

INTRODUCTION: It has been demonstrated that there was an increase in later-stage prostate cancer (PCa) at diagnosis after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer. However, the cancer characteristics at diagnosis within the equal-access Military Health System (MHS) during the period have not been described. In this study, we compared PCa stage at diagnosis and its trends between the military health care system and the general public and further compared the trends in tumor stage by race. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was based on nonidentifiable data from the U.S. Department of Defense's Central Cancer Registry (CCR) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute. Patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 were included. The distributions of PCa stage at diagnosis over time were compared between the 2 populations. Comparisons were further conducted for White and Black patients, respectively. RESULTS: Among the 11,895 patients in the CCR and 544,142 patients in SEER, the majority of patients were diagnosed with stage I or II prostate cancer. However, the CCR had a larger proportion of early-stage tumors (stages I and II combined) with 84.3% vs. 80.0% of SEER patients. The proportion of late-stage tumors (stages III and IV combined) increased over time from 2008 for both populations and the proportion of early-stage tumors decreased for the general population. In terms of temporal distributions by race, the trends were the same between White and Black groups in the general population. In the MHS, the trends in the White patients were similar to those in the general population, but in the Black patients, the percentages of stages I and II at diagnosis continued to increase and those of stages III and IV decreased, differing from those in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: The MHS consistently diagnosed PCa at an earlier stage than the U.S. general population across all time periods evaluated in this study. Although similar trends were observed for White patients between both populations, the proportion of stages I and II at diagnosis increased from 2012 among Black patients in the MHS, which stands in sharp contrast to trends in the U.S. general population. Although the differences between the two populations may be associated with various factors, differences in accessibility to care and thus the use of prostate-specific antigen testing might play an important role.

Bone Sarcoma Survival in the US Military Health System: Comparison With the SEER Program.

BACKGROUND: Access to care is associated with cancer survival. The US Military Health System (MHS) provides universal health care to all beneficiaries. However, it is unknown whether survival among patients with bone sarcoma in a health system providing universal care is better than that in the general population. The aim of the study was to compare survival of patients with bone sarcoma in the US MHS with that of the US general population. METHODS: The MHS data were obtained from the Department of Defense Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR). The US general population data were obtained from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry. Adult patients were defined as those aged 25 years or older with a histologically confirmed musculoskeletal bone sarcoma diagnosed from January 1, 1987, to December 31, 2013. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the overall survival of the two populations. RESULTS: The final analysis included 2,273 bone sarcoma cases from ACTUR and 9,092 bone sarcoma cases from SEER. ACTUR patients had significant lower 5-year all-cause death (hazard ratio = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.78) after adjustment for the potential confounders. ACTUR patients with bone sarcoma also exhibited significantly lower risk of all-cause death during the entire follow-up period than the SEER patients (hazard ratio = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.6 to 0.81). CONCLUSIONS: MHS beneficiaries with bone sarcoma may have longer survival than SEER patients. Our findings support the role of universal access to high-quality care in improving bone sarcoma outcomes.

Incidence rates of bladder and kidney cancers among US military servicemen: comparison with the rates in the general US population.

OBJECTIVE: The military population may differ from the general population in factors related to bladder and kidney cancers. However, incidence rates of these cancers have not been systematically compared between the two populations. This study compared incidence rates of bladder and kidney cancers between active-duty servicemen and men in the general US population. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Department of Defense's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Included were 18-59-year-old active-duty servicemen in ACTUR and men in SEER who were diagnosed with malignant bladder and kidney cancers from 1990 to 2013. Age-adjusted rates, incidence rate ratios (IRR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were compared between the two populations by age, race, and cancer stage. RESULTS: Incidence rates were lower in ACTUR than SEER for bladder cancer overall (IRR = 0.55, 95% CI, 0.48-0.62) and by age (except ages 50-59), race, and tumor stage. For ages 50-59, rates did not differ between the populations. Kidney cancer incidence rates were lower in the military for younger groups and Black men, but higher for ages 50-59. CONCLUSION: Lower bladder and kidney cancer incidence in ACTUR, notably in younger men, may be primarily associated with better health and healthcare access. The lack of differences in bladder or kidney cancer incidence among 50-59-year-old men between the populations might result from multifactorial effects, such as the possible effects of cumulative military-related exposures offset by healthier status and better medical care.

Incidence of papillary thyroid cancer: Comparison of the military and the general population by race and tumor stage/size.

BACKGROUND: A previous study found higher papillary thyroid cancer incidence in the US military than the general population with larger differences among Black than White individuals. This study compared the two populations in the incidence by sex, race, tumor stage, and size to assess possible factors related to identified differences. METHODS: Subjects were aged 18-59 in the military and general populations. Papillary thyroid cancer patients diagnosed during 1990-2013 were identified from the Department of Defense's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Age-adjusted rates and incidence rate ratios (IRR) comparing ACTUR to SEER were calculated. RESULTS: Higher incidence rates in ACTUR than SEER were more obvious for Black (IRR=2.07, 95%CI=1.56-2.70) than White men (IRR=1.17, 95%CI=1.07-1.26) and for Black (IRR=2.30, 95%CI=1.91-2.71) than White women (IRR=1.50, 95%CI=1.38-1.64). Population differences by race were observed for localized tumors among both men and women and were larger for Black individuals. Differences were observed regardless of tumor size among Black men and White women, and in smaller tumors among Black women. CONCLUSION: Higher incidence in the military than general population primarily in localized tumors suggests universal healthcare in the military may lead to earlier detection. The differences were larger among Blacks than Whites, suggesting universal access in the military may be more impactful among Black persons, who are less likely to have timely care than White persons in the general population. Nevertheless, observed differences for tumors > 2 cm suggest other factors may also play a role.

Treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma in relation to survival in the U.S. Military Health System.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer has a high case fatality and relatively short survival after diagnosis. Treatment is paramount to improving survival, but studies on the effects of standard treatment by surgery or chemotherapy on survival in U.S. healthcare settings is limited. Further, variability in access to care may impact treatment and outcomes for patients. We aimed to assess the relationship between standard treatment(s) and survival of pancreatic adenocarcinoma in a population with access to comprehensive healthcare. METHODS: We used the Military Cancer Epidemiology (MilCanEpi) database, which includes data from the Department of Defense cancer registry and medical encounter data from the Military Health System (MHS), to study a cohort of 1408 men and women who were diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma between 1998 and 2014. Treatment with surgery or chemotherapy in relation to overall survival was examined in multivariable time-dependent Cox regression models. RESULTS: Overall, 75 % of 441 patients with early-stage and 51 % of 967 patients with late-stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma received treatment. In early-stage disease, surgery alone or surgery with chemotherapy were both associated with statistically significant 52 % reduced risks of death, but chemotherapy alone was not. In late-stage disease, surgery alone, chemotherapy alone, or both surgery and chemotherapy significantly reduced the risk of death by 42 %, 25 %, and 52 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings from the MHS demonstrate improved survival after treatment with surgery or surgery with chemotherapy for early- or late-stage pancreatic cancer and after chemotherapy for late-stage pancreatic cancer. In the era of immunotherapy and personalized medicine, further research on treatment and survival of pancreatic cancer in observational settings is needed.

Characteristics Associated With Survival in Surgically Nonresected Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma in the Military Health System.

OBJECTIVES: Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages with high-case fatality. Many tumors are not surgically resectable. We aimed to identify features associated with survival in patients with surgically nonresected pancreatic cancer in the Military Health System. METHODS: We used the Military Cancer Epidemiology database to identify the Department of Defense beneficiaries aged 18 and older diagnosed with a primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma between January 1998 and December 2014 who did not receive oncologic surgery as treatment. We used Cox Proportional Hazard regression with stepwise procedures to select the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics related to 2-year overall survival, expressed as adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and 95% CIs. RESULTS: Among 1148 patients with surgically nonresected pancreatic cancer, sex, race-ethnicity, marital status, and socioeconomic indicators were not selected in association with survival. A higher comorbidity count (aHR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.06-1.59 for 5 vs. 0), jaundice at diagnosis (aHR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.33-1.85 vs. no), tumor grade G3 or G4 (aHR 1.32, 95% CI: 1.05-1.67 vs. G1/G2), tumor location in pancreas tail (aHR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.22-1.83 vs. head) or body (aHR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.04-1.62 vs. head), and metastases were associated with survival. Patients receiving chemotherapy (aHR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.57-0.76) had better survival compared with no treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In a comprehensive health system, sociodemographic characteristics were not related to survival in surgically nonresected pancreatic cancer. This implicates access to care in reducing survival disparities in advanced pancreatic cancer and emphasizes the importance of treating patients based on clinical features.

Cancer incidence in the US military: An updated analysis.

BACKGROUND: Military and general populations differ in factors related to cancer occurrence and diagnosis. This study compared incidence of colorectal, lung, prostate, testicular, breast, and cervical cancers between the US military and general US populations. METHODS: Data from the US Department of Defense's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program were analyzed. Persons in ACTUR were active-duty members 20-59 years old during 1990-013. The same criteria applied to persons in SEER. Age-adjusted incidence rates, incidence rate ratios, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by sex, race, age, and cancer stage. Temporal trends were analyzed. RESULTS: ACTUR had higher rates of prostate and breast cancers, particularly in 40- to 59-year-olds. Further analyses by tumor stage showed this was primarily confined to localized stage. Incidence rates of colorectal, lung, testicular, and cervical cancers were significantly lower in ACTUR than in SEER, primarily for regional and distant tumors in men. Temporal incidence trends were generally similar overall and by stage between the populations, although distant colorectal cancer incidence tended to decrease starting in 2006 in ACTUR whereas it increased during the same period in SEER. CONCLUSION: Higher rates of breast and prostate cancers in servicemembers 40-59 years of age than in the general population may result from greater cancer screening utilization or cumulative military exposures. Lower incidence of other cancers in servicemembers may be associated with better health status.

Survival among lung cancer patients: comparison of the U.S. military health system and the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) program by health insurance status.

PURPOSE: The U.S. military health system (MHS) provides beneficiaries with universal health care while health care access varies in the U.S. general population by insurance status/type. We divided the patients from the U.S. general population by insurance status/type and compared them to the MHS patients in survival. METHODS: The MHS patients were identified from the Department of Defense's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR). Patients from the U.S. general population were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was conducted to compare different insurance status/type in SEER to ACTUR in overall survival. RESULTS: Compared to ACTUR patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), SEER patients showed significant worse survival. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.08 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.03-1.13], 1.22 (95% CI = 1.16-1.28), 1.40 (95% CI = 1.33-1.47), 1.50 (95% CI = 1.41-1.59), for insured, insured/no specifics, Medicaid, and uninsured patients, respectively. The pattern was consistently observed in subgroup analysis by race, gender, age, or tumor stage. Results were similar for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), although they were only borderline significant in some subgroups. CONCLUSION: The survival advantage of patients receiving care from a universal health care system over the patients from the general population was not restricted to uninsured or Medicaid as expected, but was present cross all insurance types, including patients with private insurance. Our findings highlight the survival benefits of universal health care system to lung cancer patients.

Differences in Survival between Black and White Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Comparison of Data from the DOD Central Cancer Registry and SEER.

BACKGROUND: Barriers to health care access may contribute to the poorer survival of Black patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) than their White counterparts in the U.S. general population. The Department of Defense's (DOD) Military Health System (MHS) provides universal health care access to all beneficiaries with various racial backgrounds. METHODS: We compared overall survival of patients with HNSCC by race in the MHS and the general population, respectively, to assess whether there were differences in racial disparity between the two populations. The MHS patients were identified from the DOD's Central Cancer Registry (CCR) and the patients from the U.S. general population were identified from the NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. For each cohort, a retrospective study was conducted comparing survival by race. RESULTS: Black and White patients in the CCR cohort had similar survival in multivariable Cox regression models with a HR of 1.04 and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of 0.81 to 1.33 after adjustment for the potential confounders. In contrast, Black patients in the SEER cohort exhibited significantly worse survival than White patients with an adjusted HR of 1.47 (95% CI = 1.43-1.51). These results remained similar in the subgroup analyses for oropharyngeal and non-oropharyngeal sites, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was no racial difference in survival among patients with HNSCC in the MHS system, while Black patients had significantly poorer survival than White patients in the general population. IMPACT: Equal access to health care could reduce racial disparity in overall survival among patients with HNSCC.

Cancer stage at diagnosis: Comparison of insurance status in SEER to the Department of Defense Cancer Registry.

BACKGROUND: Military individuals, retirees, and their families have free care or minimal out-of-pocket costs in the US military health system (MHS). In contrast, out-of-pocket costs in the US general population vary substantially. This study compared cancer patients with various insurance types in the general population to those in the MHS in cancer stage at diagnosis. METHODS: Patients were identified from the US Department of Defense's (DoD) Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Tumor stage at diagnosis of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers during 2007-2013 was compared between ACTUR and SEER insurance categories of "insured," "insured-no specifics," "any Medicaid," and "uninsured," A multivariable logistic regression analysis estimated the odds ratio (OR) of late stage (Stages III and IV) versus early stage (Stages I and II) cancers comparing SEER insurance status to ACTUR. RESULTS: There were 18,440 eligible patients identified from ACTUR and 831,959 patients identified from SEER. For all cancer types, patients in the SEER-insured/no specifics, Medicaid, and uninsured groups had significantly greater likelihood of late stage diagnosis compared to ACTUR patients. The adjusted ORs were greatest among uninsured and Medicaid patients. The SEER-insured group also had a significantly higher odds of advanced stage disease than ACTUR patients for prostate cancer and lung cancer. CONCLUSION: Patients in the MHS with universal access to healthcare were diagnosed at an earlier stage than those in the general population. This difference was most evident compared to Medicaid and uninsured groups.

MilCanEpi: Increased Capability for Cancer Care Research in the Department of Defense.

The Military Health System (MHS) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) provides comprehensive medical care to over nine million beneficiaries, including active-duty members, reservists, activated National Guard, military retirees, and their family members. The MHS generates an extensive database containing administrative claims and medical encounter data, while the DoD also maintains a cancer registry that collects information about the occurrence of cancer among its beneficiaries who receive care at military treatment facilities. Collating data from the two sources diminishes the limitations of using registry or medical claims data alone for cancer research and extends their usage. To facilitate cancer research using the unique military health resources, a computer interface linking the two databases has been developed, called Military Cancer Epidemiology, or MilCanEpi. The intent of this article is to provide an overview of the MilCanEpi data system, describing its components, structure, potential uses, and limitations.

Chemotherapy Treatment Costs and Clinical Outcomes of Colon Cancer in the U.S. Military Health System's Direct and Private Sector Care Settings.

INTRODUCTION: Identifying low-value cancer care may be an important step in containing costs associated with treatment. Low-value care occurs when the medical services, tests, or treatments rendered do not result in clinical benefit. These may be impacted by care setting and patients' access to care and health insurance. We aimed to study chemotherapy treatment and the cost paid by the Department of Defense (DoD) for treatment in relation to clinical outcomes among patients with colon cancer treated within the U.S. Military Health System's direct and private sector care settings to better understand the value of cancer care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of patients aged 18 to 64 years with primary colon cancer diagnosed between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2014, were identified in the Military Cancer Epidemiology database. Multivariable time-dependent Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the relationship between chemotherapy treatment and the cost paid by the DoD (in quartiles, Q) and the outcomes of cancer progression, cancer recurrence, and all-cause death modeled as adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). The Military Cancer Epidemiology data were approved for research by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' Institutional Review Board. RESULTS: The study included 673 patients using direct care and 431 patients using private sector care. The median per patient chemotherapy costs in direct care ($111,202) were lower than in private sector care ($350,283). In direct care, higher chemotherapy costs were associated with an increased risk of any outcome but not with all-cause death. In private sector care, higher chemotherapy costs were associated with a higher risk of any outcome and with all-cause death (aHR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.20-5.92 for Q4 vs. Q1). CONCLUSIONS: The findings in the private sector may indicate low-value care in terms of the cost paid by the DoD for chemotherapy treatment and achieving desirable survival outcomes for patients with colon cancer in civilian health care. Comprehensive evaluations of value-based care among patients treated for other tumor types may be warranted.

Nondisparate Survival of Non-Hispanic Black Women With Breast Cancer Despite Less Favorable Pathology: Effect of Access to and Provision of Care Within a Military Health Care System.

Introduction: Breast cancer mortality rates are 40% higher in non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) than in non-Hispanic White (NHWs) in the United States. All women treated within the Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (MCC/WRNMMC) have health insurance and are provided multidisciplinary health care. Pathological factors and outcomes of NHBs and NHWs treated within the MCC/WRNMMC were evaluated to determine whether equal-access health care reduces disparate phenotypes and survival between the racial groups. Methods: Between 2001 and 2018, 368 NHB and 819 NHW women were diagnosed with breast cancer at MCC/WRNMMC. Differences between NHBs and NHWs in epidemiological and pathological characteristics were evaluated. Overall and breast cancer-specific 5- and 10-year survival rates were compared between races. Results: Compared with NHWs, NHBs were significantly more likely to have a body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, to be unmarried, to have tumors of higher grade, later stage, with lymph node metastases, and to be hormone receptor negative (HR-)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) or triple negative. After adjustment for demographic factors, NHBs remained significantly more likely to have tumors diagnosed at a higher grade and later stage, and to be HR-/HER2+ or triple negative. Neither 5- nor 10-year overall or breast cancer-specific survival differed significantly between the racial groups after adjusting for demographic and pathological variables. Discussion: Despite having tumors with less favorable pathological characteristics, overall and disease-free survival disparities were not observed for NHBs treated at MCC/WRNMMC. These data suggest that survival disparities of NHBs with breast cancer can be diminished with provision of quality care.

Five-year survival of patients with late-stage prostate cancer: comparison of the Military Health System and the U.S. general population.

BACKGROUND: While the 5-year survival rate for local and regional prostate cancer is nearly 100%, it decreases dramatically for advanced tumours. Accessibility to health care is an important factor for cancer prognosis. The U.S. Military Health System (MHS) provides universal health care to its beneficiaries, reducing financial barriers to medical care. However, whether the universal care translates into improved survival among patients with advanced prostate cancer in the MHS is unknown. In this study, we compared the MHS and the U.S. general population in survival of patients with advanced prostate cancer (stages III and IV). METHODS: The MHS patients (N = 5379) were identified from the Department of Defense's (DoD) Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR). Patients in the U.S. general population (N = 21,516) were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) programme. The two populations were matched on age, race, and diagnosis year. RESULTS: The ACTUR patients exhibited longer 5-year survival than the matched SEER patients (HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.67-0.83), after adjustment for the potential confounders. The improved survival was observed for ages 50 years or older, both White patients and Black patients, all tumour stages and grades. This was also demonstrated despite the receipt of surgery or radiation treatment. CONCLUSIONS: MHS beneficiaries with advanced prostate cancer had longer survival than their counterparts in the U.S. general population.

Cancers of unknown primary: Survival by histologic type, demographic features, and treatment in the U.S. Military Health System.

BACKGROUND: Cancers of unknown primary (CUP), a group of heterogenous metastatic cancers lacking a known primary site, have poor prognosis. This study compared survival of CUP by histologic type, patient characteristics, and treatment in the U.S. Military Health System (MHS), which provides universal care to its members. METHODS: Patients histologically diagnosed with CUP were identified from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)'s Automated Central Tumor Registry. Median survival with 95 % confidence intervals was calculated for demographic and treatment variables by histologic type. A multivariable accelerated failure time model estimated time ratios and 95 % confidence intervals. RESULTS: The study included 3358 CUP patients. The most prevalent CUP in this study was well- and moderately-differentiated adenocarcinomas. Median survival varied by histologic type with squamous cell carcinoma having the longest at 25.1 months and poorly-differentiated carcinomas having the shortest at 3.0 months. For each histologic type, survival was generally similar by sex and active-duty status although women with well- and moderately-differentiated adenocarcinoma had longer survival than their male counterparts. Younger patients tended to have longer survival than those aged 65 years or older. Generally, there were no racial differences in survival except poorer survival for Black patients than White patients in the group of other histologic types. Patients with chemotherapy and radiation treatment generally had improved survival whereas patients with squamous cell carcinoma who received chemotherapy had shorter survival than those without. CONCLUSION: Survival generally did not differ between racial groups, which may be related to equal healthcare access despite racial background. Further studies are warranted to better understand how survival in the MHS compares with that in the general U.S.

Cancers of Unknown Primary: A Descriptive Study in the U.S. Military Health System.

INTRODUCTION: Cancers of unknown primary (CUP) are defined as histologically confirmed metastatic cancers that do not have an identified primary site of origin despite an appropriate diagnostic workup. Although accessibility to and quality of medical care influence diagnosis of cancer including CUP, previous studies describing CUP have generally been conducted in patients with various accessibilities to care. This study aimed to describe the demographic, histologic, and temporal trend characteristics of CUP patients in the DoD Cancer Registry of the Military Health System (MHS), which provides universal health care access, reducing the potential effects of accessibility to care on research results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data were obtained from the DoD's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR), which collects cancer data from beneficiaries who were diagnosed or received treatment in the MHS. We described the demographic and histologic distributions in CUP patients aged 18 years or older diagnosed from 1987 to 2013. We calculated the proportion of CUP patients among all metastatic cancers and the most common histologic categories of those tumors. We then evaluated whether the proportion of histologic types changed over time. RESULTS: CUP comprised 13.3% of all metastatic cancers in ACTUR during the study period. The majority of CUP within ACTUR was moderately and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (51.3%) and poorly differentiated carcinomas (23.2%) followed by squamous cell carcinomas (12.5%). The percentages of CUP among metastasized cancers of the same histologic category ranged 12%-15% for moderately and well-differentiated adenocarcinomas, squamous cell, and poorly differentiated carcinomas, and 41%-46% for malignant neuroendocrine carcinomas and undifferentiated neoplasms. However, the percentages varied by sex, race, and age for certain pathologies. The proportion of CUP patients among all metastatic cancer patients has steadily declined from 22.4% to 8.3% from 1987 to 2013. CONCLUSION: The proportion and trends of CUP in the ACTUR were generally consistent with other descriptive CUP studies. This study provides a description of CUP in a health care system with universal access in the USA and provides a foundation for future studies on CUP.