scholarly journals Radiotherapy Remains Underused in the Treatment of Soft-Tissue Sarcomas: Disparities in Practice Patterns in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-306
Author(s):  
Vishruth K. Reddy ◽  
Varsha Jain ◽  
Sriram Venigalla ◽  
William P. Levin ◽  
Robert J. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Tumor Size ◽  
Practice Patterns ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Relevant Factors

Background: Practice patterns of radiation therapy (RT) use for soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) remain quite variable, despite clinical practice guidelines recommending the addition of RT to surgery for patients with high-grade STS, particularly for larger tumors. Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), we assessed patterns of overall RT use, neoadjuvant versus adjuvant treatment, and specific RT modalities in this population. Patients and Methods: Patients aged ≥18 years with stage II/III STS in 2004 through 2015 were identified from the NCDB. Patterns of care were assessed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Of 27,426 total patients, 11,654 (42%) were treated with surgery alone versus 15,772 (58%) with RT in addition to surgery, with no overall increase in RT use over the study period. Notable clinical predictors of receipt of RT included tumor size (>5 cm), grade III, and tumors arising in the extremities. Conversely, female sex, older age (≥70 years), Black race, noncommercial insurance coverage, farther distance to treatment, and poor performance status were negative predictors of RT use. Of those receiving RT, 27% were treated with neoadjuvant RT and 73% with adjuvant RT. The proportion of those receiving neoadjuvant RT increased over time. Relevant factors associated with neoadjuvant RT included treatment at academic centers, larger tumor size, and extremity tumors. Of those who received RT with a modality specified as either intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) or 3D conformal RT (3DCRT), 61% were treated with IMRT and 39% with 3DCRT. The proportion of patients treated with IMRT increased over time. Relevant factors associated with IMRT use included treatment at academic centers, commercial insurance coverage, and larger and nonextremity tumors. Conclusions: Although use of neoadjuvant RT and IMRT has increased over time, a significant number of patients with STS are not receiving adjuvant or neoadjuvant RT. Our findings also note potential sociodemographic disparities and highlight the concern that not all patients with STS are being equally considered for RT.

Radiotherapy Remains Underutilized in the Treatment of Soft-Tissue Sarcomas: Disparities in Practice Patterns in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. E59-E60
Author(s):  
Jacob Shabason ◽  
Vishruth Reddy ◽  
Varsha Jain ◽  
Sriram Venigalla ◽  
William Levin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Practice Patterns ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
The United States

Detection of pulmonary metastases in patients with osteogenic and soft-tissue sarcomas: the superiority of CT scans compared with conventional linear tomograms using dynamic analysis.

1985 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 1261-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
H I Pass ◽  
A Dwyer ◽  
R Makuch ◽  
J A Roth
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Dynamic Analysis ◽  
Pulmonary Metastases ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
Ct Scans ◽  
Surgical Exploration ◽  
Positive Study ◽  
Median Size ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Serial Evaluation

A prospective serial evaluation in 19 patients with soft-tissue and osteogenic sarcomas was performed to determine whether computerized tomography (CT) or conventional linear tomography (LT) detected pulmonary metastases earlier. Analysis of the metastatic nodules was performed radiographically with histologic confirmation by obtaining serial CTs and LTs followed by metastasectomy. Nodules were classified as stable, growing, or developing and by detection on CT and/or LT. CT was the first positive study in a significantly greater number of patients (13 CT, 1 LT; P less than .005), and CT detected the nodules earlier than LT (56 CT first v 7 LT first; P less than .0001). Ninety of 166 nodules resected were detected by CT, LT, or both (54%). The median size of metastatic nodules documented at surgical exploration and first detected by CT was significantly smaller than that first detected by LT (7.6 mm for CT v 13.2 mm for LT; P less than .05). Of 55 histologically documented metastases detected initially either by CT or LT, CT was markedly superior to LT with 50 (91%) first detected only by CT (P less than .001). These data reveal that CT detects more pulmonary metastases earlier than LT and that developing or growing nodules in patients with sarcomas are usually metastases. Decisions regarding metastasis resection in sarcoma patients, therefore, should be based primarily on CT findings.

Room for improvement? The adoption of multimodal esophageal cancer care in the United States.

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 78-78
Author(s):  
R. P. Merkow ◽  
K. Y. Bilimoria ◽  
M. McCarter ◽  
A. Stewart ◽  
W. B. Chow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Esophageal Cancer ◽  
Neoadjuvant Therapy ◽  
Surgical Resection ◽  
Tumor Size ◽  
Locally Advanced ◽  
The United States ◽  
Stage I ◽  
Stage Ii ◽  
Cancer Data ◽  
Factors Associated

78 Background: Consensus guidelines recommend neoadjuvant chemo- or chemoradiation therapy as the preferred treatment for locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma; however, it is unknown if this recommendation has been widely adopted in the U.S. Our objective was to examine esophageal cancer multimodal therapy and identify factors associated with the use of neoadjuvant therapy. Methods: From the National Cancer Data Base, patients with middle third, lower third and GE junction (GEJ) adenocarcinomas were identified. Patients who were clinical stage I-III and underwent surgical resection were included. Separate logistic regression models were developed to identify predictors of neoadjuvant therapy utilization and outcomes. Results: From 1998 to 2007, 8,051 patients underwent surgical resection for esophageal cancer: 16.3% stage I, 45.0% stage II and 38.7% stage III. For stage II/III tumors, neoadjuvant use increased (49.0% to 77.8%, p<0.001). After adjustment, factors associated with underuse of neoadjuvant therapy in stage II/III patients were older age, Black or Hispanic ethnicity, more severe comorbidities, tumor location (GEJ and middle vs. lower third), tumor size ≥ 2cm, stage II (vs. III) and geographic region. Stage II/III patients not receiving neoadjuvant had an over two fold increased risk of positive lymph nodes (OR 2.14. 95% CI 1.79 – 2.55, p<0.001). In addition, the positive surgical margin rate increased almost three fold (OR 2.80 95% CI 2.17-3.62, p<0.001) but 30-day postoperative mortality risk was not significantly affected (OR 1.50 95% CI 0.94-2.39; p=0.090). For stage I patients, neoadjuvant therapy decreased over time (38.0% to 11.4%, p<0.001). The overuse of neoadjuvant therapy was associated with higher tumor grade, larger tumor size, and low surgical case volume (all p<0.05). Conclusions: The adoption of neoadjuvant therapy has increased in the past decade; however, opportunity exists to improve guideline treatment for locally advanced esophageal cancer. Registry-based feedback to individual hospitals, such as benchmark comparison tools, could help institutions provide care in concordance with national guidelines. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

scholarly journals Soft Tissue Sarcoma Guidelines

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
_ _
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcoma ◽  
Single Agent ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Desmoid Tumors ◽  
Recent Version ◽  
Overall Mortality

Soft tissue sarcomas are the most frequent sarcomas; the annual incidence for 2007 in the United States is estimated at about 9220 cases, with an overall mortality rate of approximately 3560 cases per year. Important updates for the 2007 version of the guidelines include the addition of epirubicin (single agent) and the combination of epirubicin, ifosfamide, and mesna as generally accepted systemic therapy. Imatinib was added as an option for desmoid tumors. For the most recent version of the guidelines, please visit NCCN.org

scholarly journals The Evolution of Medical Spending Risk

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Gruber ◽  
Helen Levy
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Private Insurance ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consumer Expenditure ◽  
Out Of Pocket Payments ◽  
Over Time

How has the economic risk of health spending changed over time for U.S. households? We describe trends in aggregate health spending in the United States and how private insurance markets and public insurance programs have changed over time. We then present evidence from Consumer Expenditure Survey microdata on how the distribution of household spending on health—that is, out-of-pocket payments for medical care plus the household's share of health insurance premiums—has changed over time. This distribution has shifted up over time—households spend more on medical care and insurance than they used to—but for the purposes of measuring change in risk, it is not the mean but the dispersion of this distribution that is of interest. We consider two measures of dispersion that serve as proxies for household risk: the standard deviation of the distribution of household health spending and the ratio of the 90th percentile of spending to the median (the so-called “90/50 gap”). We find, surprisingly, that neither has increased despite the rapid rise in aggregate health spending. This conclusion holds true for broad subgroups of the population (for example, the nonelderly as a group) but not for some narrowly-defined subgroups (for example, low-income families with children). We next consider how much risk households should face, from the perspective of economic efficiency. Household risk may not have changed much over the past several decades, but do we have any evidence that this level represents either too much or too little risk? Finally, we discuss implications for public policy—in particular, for current debates over expanding health insurance coverage to the uninsured.

scholarly journals Trends in the incidence of soft tissue sarcomas in the United States from 1973 through 1987

Cancer ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 486-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A. Ross ◽  
Richard K. Severson ◽  
Scott Davis ◽  
John J. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
The United States

scholarly journals 288What proportion of patients with chronic noncancer pain are prescribed an opioid medicine?

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Mathieson ◽  
Graeme Wertheimer ◽  
Christopher G Maher ◽  
Christine Lin ◽  
Andrew J McLachlan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Pain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Chronic Noncancer Pain ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Opioid Prescribing ◽  
Meta Regression ◽  
Quality Evidence ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Guidelines now discourage opioid analgesics for chronic non-cancer pain because the benefits frequently do not outweigh the harms. This review determined the proportion of patients with chronic non-cancer pain who are prescribed an opioid, the types prescribed, and factors associated with prescribing. Methods Database searches were conducted from inception to 29th October 2018 without restrictions. We included observational studies of adults with chronic non-cancer pain measuring opioid prescribing. Opioids were categorised as weak (e.g. codeine) or strong (e.g. oxycodone). Risk of bias assessed study quality. Results were pooled using a random-effects model. Meta-regression investigated study-level factors associated with prescribing. The overall evidence quality was assessed using GRADE criteria. Results Of the 42 studies (5,059,098 participants) included, majority (n = 28) from the United States of America. Eleven studies were at low risk of bias. The pooled estimate of the proportion of patients with chronic non-cancer pain prescribed opioids was 30.7% (95%CI 28.7% to 32.7%, 42 studies, moderate-quality evidence). Strong opioids were more frequently prescribed than weak (18.4% (95%CI 16.0% to 21.0%, n = 15 studies, low-quality evidence), versus 8.5% (95%CI 7.2% to 9.9%, n = 15 studies, low-quality evidence)). Meta-regression determined opioid prescribing was associated with year of sampling (more prescribing in recent years) (p = 0.014) and not geographic region (p = 0.056). Conclusions Opioid prescribing for patients with chronic non-cancer pain is common and has increased over time. Key message Opioid prescribing for patients with chronic non-cancer pain and has increased over time. This review is the first systematic review to synthesized such data.

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