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Lokeshwar SD, Ali A, Weiss TR, Reynolds J, Shuch BM, Ferencz T, Kyriakides TC, Mehal WZ, Brito J, Renzulli J, Leapman MS. The effect of a fermented soy beverage among patients with localized prostate cancer prior to radical prostatectomy. BMC Urol 2024; 24:102. [PMID: 38702664 PMCID: PMC11067086 DOI: 10.1186/s12894-024-01483-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fermented soy products have shown to possess inhibitory effects on prostate cancer (PCa). We evaluated the effect of a fermented soy beverage (Q-Can®), containing medium-chain triglycerides, ketones and soy isoflavones, among men with localized PCa prior to radical prostatectomy. METHODS We conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized trial of Q-Can®. Stratified randomization (Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment (CAPRA) score at diagnosis) was used to assign patients to receive Q-Can® or placebo for 2-5 weeks before RP. Primary endpoint was change in serum PSA from baseline to end-of-study. We assessed changes in other clinical and pathologic endpoints. The primary ITT analysis compared PSA at end-of-study between randomization arms using repeated measures linear mixed model incorporating baseline CAPRA risk strata. RESULTS We randomized 19 patients, 16 were eligible for analysis of the primary outcome. Mean age at enrollment was 61, 9(56.2%) were classified as low and intermediate risk, and 7(43.8%) high CAPRA risk. Among patients who received Q-Can®, mean PSA at baseline and end-of-study was 8.98(standard deviation, SD 4.07) and 8.02ng/mL(SD 3.99) compared with 8.66(SD 2.71) to 9.53ng/mL(SD 3.03), respectively, (Difference baseline - end-of-study, p = 0.36). There were no significant differences in Gleason score, clinical stage, surgical margin status, or CAPRA score between treatment arms (p > 0.05), and no significant differences between treatment arms in end-of-study or change in lipids, testosterone and FACT-P scores (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Short exposure to Q-Can® among patients with localized PCa was not associated with changes in PSA levels, PCa characteristics including grade and stage or serum testosterone. Due to early termination from inability to recruit, study power, was not achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soum D Lokeshwar
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 800 Howard Ave Fl 3, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Ather Ali
- Department of Pediatrics and Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Theresa R Weiss
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 800 Howard Ave Fl 3, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Jesse Reynolds
- Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Brian M Shuch
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas Ferencz
- Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Tassos C Kyriakides
- Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Wajahat Z Mehal
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Joseph Brito
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 800 Howard Ave Fl 3, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Joseph Renzulli
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 800 Howard Ave Fl 3, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 800 Howard Ave Fl 3, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.
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Fazekas T, Shim SR, Basile G, Baboudjian M, Kói T, Przydacz M, Abufaraj M, Ploussard G, Kasivisvanathan V, Rivas JG, Gandaglia G, Szarvas T, Schoots IG, van den Bergh RCN, Leapman MS, Nyirády P, Shariat SF, Rajwa P. Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Prostate Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Oncol 2024:2817308. [PMID: 38576242 PMCID: PMC10998247 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.0734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Importance Prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly integrated within the prostate cancer (PCa) early detection pathway. Objective To systematically evaluate the existing evidence regarding screening pathways incorporating MRI with targeted biopsy and assess their diagnostic value compared with prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening with systematic biopsy strategies. Data Sources PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane/Central, Scopus, and Web of Science (through May 2023). Study Selection Randomized clinical trials and prospective cohort studies were eligible if they reported data on the diagnostic utility of prostate MRI in the setting of PCa screening. Data Extraction Number of screened individuals, biopsy indications, biopsies performed, clinically significant PCa (csPCa) defined as International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade 2 or higher, and insignificant (ISUP1) PCas detected were extracted. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was csPCa detection rate. Secondary outcomes included clinical insignificant PCa detection rate, biopsy indication rates, and the positive predictive value for the detection of csPCa. Data Synthesis The generalized mixed-effect approach with pooled odds ratios (ORs) and random-effect models was used to compare the MRI-based and PSA-only screening strategies. Separate analyses were performed based on the timing of MRI (primary/sequential after a PSA test) and cutoff (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System [PI-RADS] score ≥3 or ≥4) for biopsy indication. Results Data were synthesized from 80 114 men from 12 studies. Compared with standard PSA-based screening, the MRI pathway (sequential screening, PI-RADS score ≥3 cutoff for biopsy) was associated with higher odds of csPCa when tests results were positive (OR, 4.15; 95% CI, 2.93-5.88; P ≤ .001), decreased odds of biopsies (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.22-0.36; P ≤ .001), and insignificant cancers detected (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.23-0.49; P = .002) without significant differences in the detection of csPCa (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.75-1.37; P = .86). Implementing a PI-RADS score of 4 or greater threshold for biopsy selection was associated with a further reduction in the odds of detecting insignificant PCa (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.05-0.97; P = .048) and biopsies performed (OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.38; P = .01) without differences in csPCa detection (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.49-1.45; P = .22). Conclusion and relevance The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that integrating MRI in PCa screening pathways is associated with a reduced number of unnecessary biopsies and overdiagnosis of insignificant PCa while maintaining csPCa detection as compared with PSA-only screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamás Fazekas
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Centre for Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sung Ryul Shim
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Giuseppe Basile
- Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, Division of Oncology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Michael Baboudjian
- Department of Urology, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, North Academic Hospital, Marseille, France
| | - Tamás Kói
- Centre for Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Mathematics, Department of Stochastics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Mikolaj Przydacz
- Department of Urology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Mohammad Abufaraj
- Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
- The National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | | | - Veeru Kasivisvanathan
- Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, England
| | - Juan Gómez Rivas
- Department of Urology, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Giorgio Gandaglia
- Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, Division of Oncology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Tibor Szarvas
- Department of Urology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Urology, University of Duisburg-Essen and German Cancer Consortium–University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Ivo G. Schoots
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Radiology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Roderick C. N. van den Bergh
- Department of Urology, St Antonius Hospital, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Department of Urology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Péter Nyirády
- Department of Urology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Centre for Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Shahrokh F. Shariat
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
- Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York
- Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria
| | - Pawel Rajwa
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland
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Rahman SN, Long JB, Westvold SJ, Leapman MS, Spees LP, Hurwitz ME, McManus HD, Gross CP, Wheeler SB, Dinan MA. Area Vulnerability and Disparities in Therapy for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma. JAMA Netw Open 2024; 7:e248747. [PMID: 38687479 PMCID: PMC11061765 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.8747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Importance Area-level measures of sociodemographic disadvantage may be associated with racial and ethnic disparities with respect to receipt of treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) but have not been investigated previously, to our knowledge. Objective To assess the association between area-level measures of social vulnerability and racial and ethnic disparities in the treatment of US Medicare beneficiaries with mRCC from 2015 through 2019. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study included Medicare beneficiaries older than 65 years who were diagnosed with mRCC from January 2015 through December 2019 and were enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare Parts A, B, and D from 1 year before through 1 year after presumed diagnosis or until death. Data were analyzed from November 22, 2022, through January 26, 2024. Exposures Five different county-level measures of disadvantage and 4 zip code-level measures of vulnerability or deprivation and segregation were used to dichotomize whether an individual resided in the most vulnerable quartile according to each metric. Patient-level factors included age, race and ethnicity, sex, diagnosis year, comorbidities, frailty, Medicare and Medicaid dual enrollment eligibility, and Medicare Part D low-income subsidy (LIS). Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcomes were receipt and type of systemic therapy (oral anticancer agent or immunotherapy from 2 months before to 1 year after diagnosis of mRCC) as a function of patient and area-level characteristics. Multivariable regression analyses were used to adjust for patient factors, and odds ratios (ORs) from logistic regression and relative risk ratios (RRRs) from multinomial logistic regression are reported. Results The sample included 15 407 patients (mean [SD] age, 75.6 [6.8] years), of whom 9360 (60.8%) were men; 6931 (45.0%), older than 75 years; 93 (0.6%), American Indian or Alaska Native; 257 (1.7%), Asian or Pacific Islander; 757 (4.9%), Hispanic; 1017 (6.6%), non-Hispanic Black; 12 966 (84.2%), non-Hispanic White; 121 (0.8%), other; and 196 (1.3%), unknown. Overall, 8317 patients (54.0%) received some type of systemic therapy. After adjusting for individual factors, no county or zip code-level measures of social vulnerability, deprivation, or segregation were associated with disparities in treatment. In contrast, patient-level factors, including female sex (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.73-0.84) and LIS (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.36-0.65), were associated with lack of treatment, with particularly limited access to immunotherapy for patients with LIS (RRR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.14-0.43). Associations between individual-level factors and treatment in multivariable analysis were not mediated by the addition of area-level metrics. Disparities by race and ethnicity were consistently and only observed within the most vulnerable areas, as indicated by the top quartile of each vulnerability deprivation index. Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of older Medicare patients diagnosed with mRCC, individual-level demographics, including race and ethnicity, sex, and income, were associated with receipt of systemic therapy, whereas area-level measures were not. However, individual-level racial and ethnic disparities were largely limited to socially vulnerable areas, suggesting that efforts to improve racial and ethnic disparities may be most effective when targeted to socially vulnerable areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed N. Rahman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jessica B. Long
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Sarah J. Westvold
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Lisa P. Spees
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Michael E. Hurwitz
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Hannah D. McManus
- Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Cary P. Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Stephanie B. Wheeler
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Michaela A. Dinan
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
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Heckscher D, Jalfon M, Buck MB, Abello A, Nguyen JV, Casilla-Lennon M, Leapman MS, Hittelman AB, Teitelbaum J, Emerson BL, Kenney PA, Cavallo JA, Lambert S. Implementation of a health system intervention to reduce time from presentation to surgical intervention for pediatric testicular torsion. J Pediatr Urol 2024; 20:254.e1-254.e7. [PMID: 38030428 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.10.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Testicular salvage rates for torsion are time-dependent1. Door to detorsion time has been identified as an independent testicular survival factor2. We describe an initiative to reduce door to incision (DTI) time for pediatric testicular torsion. MATERIALS AND METHODS An institutional multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative with a primary outcome of reducing DTI time for pediatric testicular torsion was developed with multidisciplinary stakeholders. Several process and balancing measures were used as secondary outcomes to help interpret and verify the observed change in DTI time. Interventions were implemented in cycles. Initial interventions standardized assessment of suspected torsion by Emergency Medicine utilizing a validated scoring system. A threshold Testicular Workup for Ischemia and Suspected Torsion (TWIST) score led to parallel notification of essential services for rapid assessment and case prioritization3. Subsequently, bedside ultrasound in the Emergency Department was implemented. Progress was tracked in a live dashboard and analyzed with X-mR process control charts and Nelson rules. These tools are used in quality improvement and process control to demonstrate the significance of changes as they are being implemented, prior to when traditional hypothesis testing would be able to do so. We aimed to increase the proportion of cases with DTI times under 4 h from 64% to >90% within one year. RESULTS We observed 22 torsion cases prior to and 62 following initial implementation. The percentage of cases with DTI times under 4 h improved from 64% to 95%. At week 29, a shift identified a significant change on the X chart, with reduction in mean DTI time from 221 to 147 min. At the same time, a shift on the mR chart identified reduction in patient-to-patient variation. Mean time from arrival to Urology evaluation decreased from 140 to 56 min, mean time from arrival to scrotal ultrasound decreased from 70 to 36 min, and mean time from scrotal ultrasound to surgical incision decreased from 128 to 80 min. These improvements highlight the two key successes of our project: application of the TWIST score and bedside ultrasound for rapid assessment of suspected testicular torsions, and parallel processing of the evaluation and management. CONCLUSIONS Implementation of a protocol for pediatric testicular torsion increased the proportion of cases with DTI time <4 h to 95%, decreased mean DTI time, and decreased variation. Our protocol provides a model to improve timeliness of care in treating pediatric testicular torsion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Michael S Leapman
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven and Newington, CT, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Jaime A Cavallo
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven and Newington, CT, USA.
| | - Sarah Lambert
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Zeevi T, Leapman MS, Sprenkle PC, Venkataraman R, Staib LH, Onofrey JA. Reliable Prostate Cancer Risk Mapping From MRI Using Targeted and Systematic Core Needle Biopsy Histopathology. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2024; 71:1084-1091. [PMID: 37874731 PMCID: PMC10901528 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2023.3326799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compute a dense prostate cancer risk map for the individual patient post-biopsy from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to provide a more reliable evaluation of its fitness in prostate regions that were not identified as suspicious for cancer by a human-reader in pre- and intra-biopsy imaging analysis. METHODS Low-level pre-biopsy MRI biomarkers from targeted and non-targeted biopsy locations were extracted and statistically tested for representativeness against biomarkers from non-biopsied prostate regions. A probabilistic machine learning classifier was optimized to map biomarkers to their core-level pathology, followed by extrapolation of pathology scores to non-biopsied prostate regions. Goodness-of-fit was assessed at targeted and non-targeted biopsy locations for the post-biopsy individual patient. RESULTS Our experiments showed high predictability of imaging biomarkers in differentiating histopathology scores in thousands of non-targeted core-biopsy locations (ROC-AUCs: 0.85-0.88), but also high variability between patients (Median ROC-AUC [IQR]: 0.81-0.89 [0.29-0.40]). CONCLUSION The sparseness of prostate biopsy data makes the validation of a whole gland risk mapping a non-trivial task. Previous studies i) focused on targeted-biopsy locations although biopsy-specimens drawn from systematically scattered locations across the prostate constitute a more representative sample to non-biopsied regions, and ii) estimated prediction-power across predicted instances (e.g., biopsy specimens) with no patient distinction, which may lead to unreliable estimation of model fitness to the individual patient due to variation between patients in instance count, imaging characteristics, and pathologies. SIGNIFICANCE This study proposes a personalized whole-gland prostate cancer risk mapping post-biopsy to allow clinicians to better stage and personalize focal therapy treatment plans.
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Baum LVM, Kc M, Soulos PR, Jeffery MM, Ruddy KJ, Lerro CC, Lee H, Graham DJ, Rivera DR, Leapman MS, Jairam V, Dinan MA, Gross CP, Park HS. Trends in new and persistent opioid use in older adults with and without cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2024; 116:316-323. [PMID: 37802882 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The impact of ongoing efforts to decrease opioid use on patients with cancer remains undefined. Our objective was to determine trends in new and additional opioid use in patients with and without cancer. METHODS This retrospective cohort study used data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program-Medicare for opioid-naive patients with solid tumor malignancies diagnosed from 2012 through 2017 and a random sample of patients without cancer. We identified 238 470 eligible patients with cancer and further focused on 4 clinical strata: patients without cancer, patients with metastatic cancer, patients with nonmetastatic cancer treated with surgery alone ("surgery alone"), and patients with nonmetastatic cancer treated with surgery plus chemotherapy or radiation therapy ("surgery+"). We identified new, early additional, and long-term additional opioid use and calculated the change in predicted probability of these outcomes from 2012 to 2017. RESULTS New opioid use was higher in patients with cancer (46.4%) than in those without (6.9%) (P < .001). From 2012 to 2017, the predicted probability of new opioid use was more stable in the cancer strata (relative declines: 0.1% surgery alone; 2.4% surgery+; 8.8% metastatic cancer), than in the noncancer stratum (20.0%) (P < .001 for each cancer to noncancer comparison). Early additional use declined among surgery patients (‒14.9% and ‒17.5% for surgery alone and surgery+, respectively) but was stable among patients with metastatic disease (‒2.8%, P = .50). CONCLUSIONS Opioid prescribing declined over time at a slower rate in patients with cancer than in patients without cancer. Our study suggests important but tempered effects of the changing opioid climate on patients with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Van Metre Baum
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Madhav Kc
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Pamela R Soulos
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Molly M Jeffery
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Division of Health Care Delivery Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Catherine C Lerro
- Oncology Center of Excellence, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Hana Lee
- Office of Biostatistics, Office of Translational Sciences, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - David J Graham
- Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Donna R Rivera
- Oncology Center of Excellence, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Vikram Jairam
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michaela A Dinan
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Cary P Gross
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Henry S Park
- Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Smani S, Novosel M, Sutherland R, Jeong F, Jalfon M, Marks V, Rajwa P, Nolazco JI, Washington SL, Renzulli JF, Sprenkle P, Kim IY, Leapman MS. Association between sociodemographic factors and diagnosis of lethal prostate cancer in early life. Urol Oncol 2024; 42:28.e9-28.e20. [PMID: 38161105 DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2023.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A subset of patients are diagnosed with lethal prostate cancer (CaP) early in life before prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is typically initiated. To identify opportunities for improved detection, we evaluated patient sociodemographic factors associated with advanced vs. localized (CaP) diagnosis across the age spectrum. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the National Cancer Database, identifying patients diagnosed with CaP from 2004 to 2020. We compared characteristics of patients diagnosed at the advanced (cN1 or M1) versus localized (cT1-4N0M0) stage. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated the associations among patient clinical and sociodemographic factors and advanced diagnosis, stratifying patients by age as ≤55 (before screening is recommended for most patients), 56 to 65, 66 to 75, and ≥76 years. RESULTS We identified 977,722 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The mean age at diagnosis was 65.3 years and 50,663 (5.1%) had advanced disease. Overall, uninsured (OR = 3.20, 95% CI 3.03-3.78) and Medicaid-insured (OR 2.58, 95% CI 2.48-2.69) vs. privately insured status was associated with higher odds of diagnosis with advanced disease and this effect was more pronounced for younger patients. Among patients ≤55 years, uninsured (OR 4.14, 95% CI 3.69-4.65) and Medicaid-insured (OR 3.39, 95% CI 3.10-3.72) vs. privately insured patients were associated with higher odds of advanced cancer at diagnosis. Similarly, residence in the lowest vs. highest income quartile was associated with increased odds of advanced CaP in patients ≤55 years (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.30). Black vs. White race was associated with increased odds of advanced CaP at diagnosis later in life (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.09-1.25); however, race was not significantly associated with advanced stage CaP in those ≤55 years (P = 0.635). CONCLUSIONS Sociodemographic disparities in diagnosis at advanced stages of CaP were more pronounced in younger patients, particularly with respect to insurance status. These findings may support greater attention to differential use of early CaP screening based on patient health insurance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Michael Jalfon
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | | | - Paweł Rajwa
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland
| | - José Ignacio Nolazco
- Division of Urological Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA; Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Austral, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina
| | | | | | | | - Isaac Y Kim
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
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Nolazco JI, Rosner BA, Roebuck EH, Bergerot CD, Rammant E, Iyer GS, Tang Y, Al-Faouri R, Filipas DK, Leapman MS, Mossanen M, Chang SL. Impact of smoking status on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cancer survivors. Front Oncol 2024; 13:1261041. [PMID: 38239633 PMCID: PMC10795065 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1261041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) often declines among cancer survivors due to many factors. Some cancer patients who smoke before the cancer diagnosis continue this harmful habit, potentially contributing to a more significant decline in their HRQoL. Therefore, this study investigates the association between smoking status and HRQoL in cancer survivors. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study utilizing self-reported cancer history from 39,578 participants of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database, leveraging 2016 and 2020 year questionaries. A multidimensional composite outcome was created to assess HRQoL, integrating four distinct dimensions - general health, mental health, physical health, and activity limitations. After accounting for the complex survey design, logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between smoking status and poor HRQoL, adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related confounders. Results Our study found that, after adjusting for potential confounders, current smokers exhibited a significantly poorer HRQoL than never smokers (OR 1.65, 95%CI 1.40-1.93). Furthermore, former smokers showed a poorer HRQoL than never smokers; however, this association was not as strong as current smokers (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.09-1.38). Conclusion Our findings highlight the adverse association of smoking with poor HRQoL in cancer survivors, underscoring the importance of healthcare professionals prioritizing smoking cessation and providing tailored interventions to support this goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Ignacio Nolazco
- Division of Urological Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Austral, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina
| | - Bernard A. Rosner
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Emily H. Roebuck
- Department of Urology, Carolinas Medical Center/Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC, United States
| | - Cristiane Decat Bergerot
- Centro de Câncer de Brasília, Instituto Unity de Ensino e Pesquisa, Grupo Oncoclinicas, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Elke Rammant
- Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Geetha S. Iyer
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yuzhe Tang
- Urology Department, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Ra’ad Al-Faouri
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Dejan K. Filipas
- Division of Urological Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Urology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Yale School of Medicine, Department of Urology, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Matthew Mossanen
- Division of Urological Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Steven Lee Chang
- Division of Urological Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
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9
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Justice AC, Tate JP, Howland F, Gaziano JM, Kelley MJ, McMahon B, Haiman C, Wadia R, Madduri R, Danciu I, Leppert JT, Leapman MS, Thurtle D, Gnanapragasam VJ. Adaption and National Validation of a Tool for Predicting Mortality from Other Causes Among Men with Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer. Eur Urol Oncol 2024:S2588-9311(23)00289-4. [PMID: 38171965 DOI: 10.1016/j.euo.2023.11.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND An electronic health record-based tool could improve accuracy and eliminate bias in provider estimation of the risk of death from other causes among men with nonmetastatic cancer. OBJECTIVE To recalibrate and validate the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Charlson Comorbidity Index (VACS-CCI) to predict non-prostate cancer mortality (non-PCM) and to compare it with a tool predicting prostate cancer mortality (PCM). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An observational cohort of men with biopsy-confirmed nonmetastatic prostate cancer, enrolled from 2001 to 2018 in the national US Veterans Health Administration (VA), was divided by the year of diagnosis into the development (2001-2006 and 2008-2018) and validation (2007) sets. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Mortality (all cause, non-PCM, and PCM) was evaluated. Accuracy was assessed using calibration curves and C statistic in the development, validation, and combined sets; overall; and by age (<65 and 65+ yr), race (White and Black), Hispanic ethnicity, and treatment groups. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS Among 107 370 individuals, we observed 24 977 deaths (86% non-PCM). The median age was 65 yr, 4947 were Black, and 5010 were Hispanic. Compared with CCI and age alone (C statistic 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67-0.68), VACS-CCI demonstrated improved validated discrimination (C statistic 0.75, 95% CI 0.74-0.75 for non-PCM). The prostate cancer mortality tool also discriminated well in validation (C statistic 0.81, 95% CI 0.78-0.83). Both were well calibrated overall and within subgroups. Owing to missing data, 18 009/125 379 (14%) were excluded, and VACS-CCI should be validated outside the VA prior to outside application. CONCLUSIONS VACS-CCI is ready for implementation within the VA. Electronic health record-assisted calculation is feasible, improves accuracy over age and CCI alone, and could mitigate inaccuracy and bias in provider estimation. PATIENT SUMMARY Veterans Aging Cohort Study Charlson Comorbidity Index is ready for application within the Veterans Health Administration. Electronic health record-assisted calculation is feasible, improves accuracy over age and Charlson Comorbidity Index alone, and might help mitigate inaccuracy and bias in provider estimation of the risk of non-prostate cancer mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy C Justice
- VA Connecticut Healthcare, West Haven, CT, USA; Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities, Education (PRIME) Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Janet P Tate
- VA Connecticut Healthcare, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Frank Howland
- Wabash College Economics Department, Crawfordsville, IN, USA
| | | | - Michael J Kelley
- Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA; Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Christopher Haiman
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, USC Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Roxanne Wadia
- Department of Anatomic Pathology and Lab Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ravi Madduri
- Data Science Learning Division, Argonne Research Library, Lemont, IL, USA
| | - Ioana Danciu
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - John T Leppert
- Department of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- VA Connecticut Healthcare, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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10
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Leapman MS, Sutherland R, Gross CP, Ma X, Seibert TM, Cooperberg MR, Catalona WJ, Loeb S, Schulman‐Green D. Patient experiences with tissue-based genomic testing during active surveillance for prostate cancer. BJUI Compass 2024; 5:142-149. [PMID: 38179031 PMCID: PMC10764160 DOI: 10.1002/bco2.277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Tissue-based gene expression (genomic) tests provide estimates of prostate cancer aggressiveness and are increasingly used for patients considering or engaged in active surveillance. However, little is known about patient experiences with genomic testing and its role in their decision-making. Methods We performed a qualitative study consisting of in-depth, semi-structured interviews of patients with low- or favourable-intermediate-risk prostate cancer managed with active surveillance. We purposively sampled to include patients who received biopsy-based genomic testing as part of clinical care. The interview guide focused on experiences with genomic testing during patients' decision-making for prostate cancer management and understanding of genomic test results. We continued interviews until thematic saturation was reached, iteratively created a code key and used conventional content analysis to analyse data. Results Participants' (n = 20) mean age was 68 years (range 51-79). At initial biopsy, 17 (85%) had a Gleason grade group 1, and 3 (15%) had a grade group 2 prostate cancer. The decision to undergo genomic testing was driven by both participants and physicians' recommendations; however, some participants were unaware that testing had occurred. Overall, participants understood the role of genomic testing in estimating their prostate cancer risk, and the test results increased their confidence in the decision for active surveillance. Participants had some misconceptions about the difference between tissue-based gene expression tests and germline genetic tests and commonly believed that tissue-based tests measured hereditary cancer risk. While some participants expressed satisfaction with their physicians' explanations, others felt that communication was limited and lacked sufficient detail. Conclusion Patients interact with and are influenced by the results of biopsy-based genomic testing during active surveillance for prostate cancer, despite gaps in understanding about test results. Our findings indicate areas for improvement in patient counselling in order to increase patient knowledge and comfort with genomic testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S. Leapman
- Department of UrologyYale School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Yale Cancer OutcomesPublic Policy, and Effectiveness Research CenterNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Department of Chronic Disease EpidemiologyYale School of Public HealthNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | | | - Cary P. Gross
- Yale Cancer OutcomesPublic Policy, and Effectiveness Research CenterNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Department of Chronic Disease EpidemiologyYale School of Public HealthNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Department of Internal MedicineYale School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Xiaomei Ma
- Yale Cancer OutcomesPublic Policy, and Effectiveness Research CenterNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Department of Chronic Disease EpidemiologyYale School of Public HealthNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Tyler M. Seibert
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied SciencesUniversity of California San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Department of RadiologyUniversity of California San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
- Department of BioengineeringUniversity of California San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Matthew R. Cooperberg
- Department of UrologyUniversity of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
- Department of Epidemiology and BiostatisticsUniversity of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - William J. Catalona
- Department of UrologyNorthwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Stacy Loeb
- Departments of Urology and Population HealthNew York University Langone HealthNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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11
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Leapman MS. Embracing Challenges and Opportunities Posed by New Technologies in Urologic Care. Urol Pract 2024; 11:7-8. [PMID: 37747948 DOI: 10.1097/upj.0000000000000459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
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12
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Marks VA, Hsiang WR, Nie J, Umer W, Haleem A, Galal B, Pak I, Kim D, Salazar MC, Pantel H, Berger ER, Boffa DJ, Cavallo JA, Leapman MS. Telehealth Availability for Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study. JMIR Cancer 2023; 9:e45518. [PMID: 37917149 PMCID: PMC10654905 DOI: 10.2196/45518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telehealth was an important strategy for maintaining continuity of cancer care during the coronavirus pandemic and has continued to play a role in outpatient care; however, it is unknown whether services are equally available across cancer hospitals. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess telehealth availability at cancer hospitals for new and established patients with common cancers to contextualize the impact of access barriers to technology on overall access to health care. METHODS We conducted a national cross-sectional secret shopper study from June to November 2020 to assess telehealth availability at cancer hospitals for new and established patients with colorectal, breast, and skin (melanoma) cancer. We examined facility-level factors to determine predictors of telehealth availability. RESULTS Of the 312 investigated facilities, 97.1% (n=303) provided telehealth services for at least 1 cancer site. Telehealth was less available to new compared to established patients (n=226, 72% vs n=301, 97.1%). The surveyed cancer hospitals more commonly offered telehealth visits for breast cancer care (n=266, 85%) and provided lower access to telehealth for skin (melanoma) cancer care (n=231, 74%). Most hospitals (n=163, 52%) offered telehealth for all 3 cancer types. Telehealth availability was weakly correlated across cancer types within a given facility for new (r=0.16, 95% CI 0.09-0.23) and established (r=0.14, 95% CI 0.08-0.21) patients. Telehealth was more commonly available for new patients at National Cancer Institute-designated facilities, medical school-affiliated facilities, and major teaching sites, with high total admissions and below-average timeliness of care. Telehealth availability for established patients was highest at Academic Comprehensive Cancer Programs, nongovernment and nonprofit facilities, medical school-affiliated facilities, Accountable Care Organizations, and facilities with a high number of total admissions. CONCLUSIONS Despite an increase in telehealth services for patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, we identified differences in access across cancer hospitals, which may relate to measures of clinical volume, affiliation, and infrastructure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Walter R Hsiang
- University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - James Nie
- University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Waez Umer
- The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, United States
| | - Afash Haleem
- The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, United States
| | - Bayan Galal
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Irene Pak
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Dana Kim
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Haddon Pantel
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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13
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Leapman MS. Confronting the Climate Emergency in Urology. Eur Urol Focus 2023; 9:855-856. [PMID: 38042650 DOI: 10.1016/j.euf.2023.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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14
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Ślusarczyk A, Baboudjian M, Zapała P, Yanagisawa T, Miszczyk M, Chlosta M, Krumpoeck P, Moschini M, Gandaglia G, Ploussard G, Rivas JG, Życzkowski M, Karakiewicz PI, Radziszewski P, Leapman MS, Shariat SF, Rajwa P. Survival outcomes of patients treated with local therapy for nonmetastatic prostate cancer with high prostate-specific antigen concentrations. Prostate 2023; 83:1504-1515. [PMID: 37545342 DOI: 10.1002/pros.24609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer (nmPCa) and high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels due to the high likelihood of metastasis pose a clinical dilemma regarding their optimal treatment and long-term outcomes after initial local therapy. We aimed to evaluate the oncologic outcomes of patients treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT) for nmPCa with high PSA levels. METHODS We queried the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to identify patients diagnosed with nmPCa who received RP or RT from 2004 through 2015. We included nmPCa patients with high PSA levels categorized as ≥50 and ≥98 ng/mL, the highest level recorded in SEER. We used the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards to analyze cancer-specific (CSS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS We included 6177 patients with nmPCa and PSA ≥ 50 ng/mL at diagnosis; 1698 (27%) had PSA ≥ 98 ng/mL. Of these, 1658 (26.8%) underwent RP and 4519 (73.16%) patients received primary RT. Within a median of 113 months (interquartile range 74-150 months), the 5- and 10-year CSS estimates were 92.3% and 81.5% respectively; 10-year OS was 61%. In the PSA ≥ 98 ng/mL subgroup 5- and 10-year CSS estimates were 89.2% and 76%, respectively. In multivariable analyses for CSS, ISUP grade group (p < 0.001), N stage (p < 0.001), treatment with RP (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43-0.83, p < 0.001), and patient's age (p < 0.05) were associated with improved CSS. In the whole cohort of patients with PSA ≥ 50 ng/mL and RP subgroup, PSA failed to retain its independent prognostic value for CSS. CONCLUSIONS Patients treated with local therapy for nmPCa with very high PSA at diagnosis have relatively good long-term oncological outcomes. Therefore, among well-selected patients with nmPCa, high PSA levels alone should not preclude the use of radical local therapy. Potential selection bias limits inferences about the relative effectiveness of specific local therapies in this setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksander Ślusarczyk
- Department of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Piotr Zapała
- Department of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Takafumi Yanagisawa
- Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Marcin Miszczyk
- IIIrd Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Department, Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Marcin Chlosta
- Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Kraków, Poland
| | - Paul Krumpoeck
- Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marco Moschini
- Division of Experimental Oncology/Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Giorgio Gandaglia
- Division of Experimental Oncology/Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Juan G Rivas
- Department of Urology, Clinico San Carlos Hospital, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcin Życzkowski
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland
| | - Pierre I Karakiewicz
- Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, University of Montreal Health Centre, Montreal, Canada
| | - Piotr Radziszewski
- Department of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Shahrokh F Shariat
- Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas, USA
- Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia
- Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Urology, Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan
| | - Paweł Rajwa
- Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland
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15
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Khajir G, Press B, Lokeshwar S, Ghabili K, Rahman S, Gardezi M, Washington S, Cooperberg MR, Sprenkle P, Leapman MS. Prostate cancer risk stratification using magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion vs systematic prostate biopsy. JNCI Cancer Spectr 2023; 7:pkad099. [PMID: 38085220 PMCID: PMC10733209 DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkad099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Image-guided approaches improve the diagnostic yield of prostate biopsy and frequently modify estimates of clinical risk. To better understand the impact of magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion targeted biopsy (MRF-TB) on risk assessment, we compared the distribution of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) risk groupings, as calculated from MRF-TB vs systematic biopsy alone. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of 713 patients who underwent MRF-TB from January 2017 to July 2021. The primary study objective was to compare the distribution of National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk groupings obtained using MRF-TB (systematic + targeted) vs systematic biopsy. RESULTS Systematic biopsy alone classified 10% of samples as very low risk and 18.7% of samples as low risk, while MRF-TB classified 10.5% of samples as very low risk and 16.1% of samples as low risk. Among patients with benign findings, low-risk disease, and favorable/intermediate-risk disease on systematic biopsy alone, 4.6% of biopsies were reclassified as high risk or very high risk on MRF-TB. Of 207 patients choosing active surveillance, 64 (31%), 91 (44%), 42 (20.2%), and 10 (4.8%) patients were classified as having very low-risk, low-risk, and favorable/intermediate-risk and unfavorable/intermediate-risk criteria, respectively. When using systematic biopsy alone, 204 patients (28.7%) were classified as having either very low-risk and low-risk disease per NCCN guidelines, while 190 men (26.6%) received this classification when using MRF-TB. CONCLUSION The addition of MRF-TB to systematic biopsy may change eligibility for active surveillance in only a small proportion of patients with prostate cancer. Our findings support the need for routine use of quantitative risk assessment over risk groupings to promote more nuanced decision making for localized cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghazal Khajir
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Benjamin Press
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Soum Lokeshwar
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kamyar Ghabili
- Department of Radiology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Syed Rahman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mursal Gardezi
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Samuel Washington
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matthew R Cooperberg
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Preston Sprenkle
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
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16
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Jalfon MJ, Sakhalkar OV, Lokeshwar SD, Marks VA, Choksi AU, Klaassen Z, Leapman MS, Kim IY. Local Therapeutics for the Treatment of Oligo Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Curr Urol Rep 2023; 24:455-461. [PMID: 37369828 DOI: 10.1007/s11934-023-01173-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Metastatic prostate cancer remains universally lethal. Although de-novo metastatic prostate cancer was historically managed with systemic therapy alone, local therapies are increasingly utilized in the early treatment of the disease, particularly in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer (OMPC). OMPC represents an intermediate stage between clinically localized and widespread metastatic disease. Diseases classified within this stage present an opportunity for localized targeting of the disease prior to progression to widespread metastases. The purpose of this review is to discuss the contemporary and emerging local therapies for the treatment of OMPC. RECENT FINDINGS To date, there are three utilized forms of local therapy for OMPC: cryoablation, radiation therapy, and cytoreductive prostatectomy. Cryoablation can be utilized for the total ablation of the prostate and has shown promising results in patients with OMPC either in combination with ADT or with ADT and systemic chemotherapy. Radiation therapy along with ADT has demonstrated improvement in progression-free survival. The STAMPEDE Arm G, PEACE-1, and the HORRAD clinical trials have investigated radiation therapy for mPCa compared to standard of care versus systemic therapy with varying results. Cytoreductive radical prostatectomy (CRP) in conjunction with ADT has also been proposed in the management of OPMC with promising results from case-control and retrospective studies. Currently there are larger controlled trials investigating CRP for OPMC including the SIMCAP, LoMP, TRoMbone, SWOG 1802, IP2-ATLANTA, g-RAMPP, and FUSCC-OMPCa trials. Given the novel nature of local treatments for OPMC, treatment selection is still controversial and requires long-term follow-up and randomized clinical trials to aid patient and clinician decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Jalfon
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Orchard St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Om V Sakhalkar
- Department of Urology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Soum D Lokeshwar
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Orchard St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
| | - Victoria A Marks
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Orchard St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Ankur U Choksi
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Orchard St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Zachary Klaassen
- Department of Urology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Orchard St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Isaac Y Kim
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 330 Orchard St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
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Lokeshwar SD, Choksi AU, Haltstuch D, Rahman SN, Press BH, Syed J, Hurwitz ME, Kim IY, Leapman MS. Personalizing approaches to the management of metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer: role of advanced imaging, genetics and therapeutics. World J Urol 2023; 41:2007-2019. [PMID: 37160450 DOI: 10.1007/s00345-023-04409-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To summarize contemporary and emerging strategies for the diagnosis and management of metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), focusing on diagnostic testing and therapeutics. METHODS Literature review using PUBMED-Medline databases as well as clinicaltrials.gov to include reported or ongoing clinical trials on treatment for mHSPC. We prioritized the findings from phase III randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and clinical practice guidelines. RESULTS There have been significant changes to the diagnosis and staging evaluation of mHSPC with the integration of increasingly accurate positron emission tomography (PET) imaging tracers that exceed the performance of conventional computerized tomography (CT) and bone scan. Germline multigene testing is recommended for the evaluation of patients newly diagnosed with mHSPC given the prevalence of actionable alterations that may create candidacy for specific therapies. Although androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) remains the backbone of treatment for mHSPC, approaches to first-line treatment include the integration of multiple agents including androgen receptor synthesis inhibitors (ARSI; abiraterone) Androgen Receptor antagonists (enzalutamide, darolutamide, apalautamide), and docetaxel chemotherapy. The combination of ADT, ARSI, and docetaxel chemotherapy has recently been evaluated in a randomized trial and was associated with significantly improved overall survival including in patients with a high burden of disease. The role of local treatment to the prostate with radiation has been evaluated in randomized trials with additional studies underway evaluating the role of cytoreductive radical prostatectomy. CONCLUSION The staging and initial management of patients with mHSPC has undergone significant advances in the last decade with advancements in the diagnosis, treatment and sequencing of therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soum D Lokeshwar
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Ankur U Choksi
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Daniel Haltstuch
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Syed N Rahman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Benjamin H Press
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Jamil Syed
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Michael E Hurwitz
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Isaac Y Kim
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, 310 Cedar Street, BML 238C, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
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KC M, Fan J, Hyslop T, Hassan S, Cecchini M, Wang SY, Silber A, Leapman MS, Leeds I, Wheeler SB, Spees LP, Gross CP, Lustberg M, Greenup RA, Justice AC, Oeffinger KC, Dinan MA. Relative Burden of Cancer and Noncancer Mortality Among Long-Term Survivors of Breast, Prostate, and Colorectal Cancer in the US. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2323115. [PMID: 37436746 PMCID: PMC10339147 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.23115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance Improvements in cancer outcomes have led to a need to better understand long-term oncologic and nononcologic outcomes and quantify cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality risks among long-term survivors. Objective To assess absolute and relative cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality rates among long-term survivors of cancer, as well as associated risk factors. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study included 627 702 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who received a diagnosis between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, who received definitive treatment for localized disease and who were alive 5 years after their initial diagnosis (ie, long-term survivors of cancer). Statistical analysis was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures Survival time ratios (TRs) were calculated using accelerated failure time models, and the primary outcome of interest examined was death from index cancer vs alternative (nonindex cancer) mortality across breast, prostate, colon, and rectal cancer cohorts. Secondary outcomes included subgroup mortality in cancer-specific risk groups, categorized based on prognostic factors, and proportion of deaths due to cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific causes. Independent variables included age, sex, race and ethnicity, income, residence, stage, grade, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, prostate-specific antigen level, and Gleason score. Follow-up ended in 2019. Results The study included 627 702 patients (mean [SD] age, 61.1 [12.3] years; 434 848 women [69.3%]): 364 230 with breast cancer, 118 839 with prostate cancer, and 144 633 with colorectal cancer who survived 5 years or more from an initial diagnosis of early-stage cancer. Factors associated with shorter median cancer-specific survival included stage III disease for breast cancer (TR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.53-0.55) and colorectal cancer (colon: TR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.58-0.62; rectal: TR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.69-0.74), as well as a Gleason score of 8 or higher for prostate cancer (TR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.58-0.63). For all cancer cohorts, patients at low risk had at least a 3-fold higher noncancer-specific mortality compared with cancer-specific mortality at 10 years of diagnosis. Patients at high risk had a higher cumulative incidence of cancer-specific mortality than noncancer-specific mortality in all cancer cohorts except prostate. Conclusions and Relevance This study is the first to date to examine competing oncologic and nononcologic risks focusing on long-term adult survivors of cancer. Knowledge of the relative risks facing long-term survivors may help provide pragmatic guidance to patients and clinicians regarding the importance of ongoing primary and oncologic-focused care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhav KC
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jane Fan
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Terry Hyslop
- Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Sirad Hassan
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael Cecchini
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Shi-Yi Wang
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Andrea Silber
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Ira Leeds
- Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Stephanie B. Wheeler
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Lisa P. Spees
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Cary P. Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Maryam Lustberg
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Rachel A. Greenup
- Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Amy C. Justice
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Kevin C. Oeffinger
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
- Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Michaela A. Dinan
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
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19
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Chow RD, Long JB, Hassan S, Wheeler SB, Spees LP, Leapman MS, Hurwitz ME, McManus HD, Gross CP, Dinan MA. Disparities in immune and targeted therapy utilization for older US patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. JNCI Cancer Spectr 2023; 7:pkad036. [PMID: 37202354 PMCID: PMC10276895 DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkad036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Disparities in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) outcomes persist in the era of oral anticancer agents (OAAs) and immunotherapies (IOs). We examined variation in the utilization of mRCC systemic therapies among US Medicare beneficiaries from 2015 to 2019. Logistic regression models evaluated the association between therapy receipt and demographic covariates including patient race, ethnicity, and sex. In total, 15 407 patients met study criteria. After multivariable adjustment, non-Hispanic Black race and ethnicity was associated with reduced IO (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR] = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61 to 0.95; P = .015) and OAA receipt (aRRR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.64 to 0.90; P = .002) compared with non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity. Female sex was associated with reduced IO (aRRR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.66 to 0.81; P < .001) and OAA receipt (aRRR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.68 to 0.81; P < .001) compared with male sex. Thus, disparities by race, ethnicity, and sex were observed in mRCC systemic therapy utilization for Medicare beneficiaries from 2015 to 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jessica B Long
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sirad Hassan
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stephanie B Wheeler
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Lisa P Spees
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael E Hurwitz
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Hannah D McManus
- Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Cary P Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michaela A Dinan
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
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20
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Chu CE, Leapman MS, Zhao S, Cowan JE, Washington SL, Cooperberg MR. Prostate cancer disparities among American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst 2023; 115:413-420. [PMID: 36629492 PMCID: PMC10086629 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Americans Indians and Alaska Natives face disparities in cancer care with lower rates of screening, limited treatment access, and worse survival. Prostate cancer treatment access and patterns of care remain unknown. METHODS We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data to compare incidence, primary treatment, and cancer-specific mortality across American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, and White patients. Baseline characteristics included prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Gleason score (GS), tumor stage, 9-level Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment risk score, county characteristics, and health-care provider density. Primary outcomes were first definitive treatment and prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM). RESULTS American Indian and Alaska Native patients were more frequently diagnosed with higher PSA, GS greater than or equal or 8, stage greater than or equal to cT3, high-risk disease overall (Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment risk score ≥ 6), and metastases at diagnosis than any other group. Adjusting for age, PSA, GS, and clinical stage, American Indian or Alaska Native patients with localized prostate cancer were more likely to undergo external beam radiation than radical prostatectomy and had the highest rates of no documented treatment. Five-year PCSM was higher among American Indian and Alaska Natives than any other racial group. However, after multivariable adjustment accounting for clinical and pathologic factors, county-level demographics, and provider density, American Indian and Alaska Native patient PCSM hazards were no different than those of White patients. CONCLUSIONS American Indian or Alaska Native patients have more advanced prostate cancer, lower rates of definitive treatment, higher mortality, and reside in areas of less specialty care. Disparities in access appear to account for excess risks of PCSM. Focused health policy interventions are needed to address these disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carissa E Chu
- Urology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Shoujun Zhao
- Department of Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Janet E Cowan
- Department of Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Samuel L Washington
- Department of Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matthew R Cooperberg
- Department of Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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21
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Leapman MS, Wang R, Loeb S, Seibert TM, Gaylis FD, Lowentritt B, Brown GA, Chen R, Lin D, Witte J, Cooperberg MR, Catalona WJ, Gross CP, Ma X. Use of Monitoring Tests Among Patients With Localized Prostate Cancer Managed With Observation. J Urol 2023; 209:710-718. [PMID: 36753746 DOI: 10.1097/ju.0000000000003159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE It is unknown whether compliance with recommended monitoring tests during observation of localized prostate cancer has changed over time. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with low- or intermediate-risk prostate cancer in 2004-2016 who were initially managed with observation for a minimum of 12 months. The primary objective was to examine rates of PSA testing, prostate biopsy, and prostate MRI. We used multivariable mixed effects Poisson regression to determine whether rates of PSA testing and prostate biopsy increased over time. In addition, we identified clinical, sociodemographic, and provider factors associated with the frequency of monitoring tests during observation. RESULTS We identified 10,639 patients diagnosed at a median age of 73 (IQR 69-77) years. The median follow-up time was 4.3 (IQR 2.7-6.6) years after diagnosis. Among patients managed without treatment for 5 years, 98% received at ≥1 PSA test, 48.0% ≥1 additional prostate biopsy, and 31.0% ≥1 prostate MRI. Among patients managed with observation for ≥12 months, mixed effects Poisson regression revealed that rates of PSA testing and biopsy increased over time (per calendar year: RR 1.02, 95% CI: 1.02-1.03 and RR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.08-1.11, respectively). Clinical and sociodemographic factors including age, clinical risk, race/ethnicity, census tract poverty, and region were associated with rates of biopsy and PSA testing. CONCLUSIONS Use of recommended monitoring tests including repeat prostate biopsy remains low among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing observation for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Rong Wang
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Stacy Loeb
- Departments of Urology and Population Health, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York
- Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Tyler M Seibert
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | | | | | | | - Ronald Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
| | - Daniel Lin
- Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Cancer Prevention Program, Public Health Sciences, Seattle, Washington
| | - John Witte
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
| | - Matthew R Cooperberg
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - William J Catalona
- Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Cary P Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Xiaomei Ma
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
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22
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Leapman MS, Loeb S, Cooperberg MR, Catalona WJ, Gaylis FD. A vision for closing the evidence-practice gap in the management of low-grade prostate cancer. JNCI Cancer Spectr 2023; 7:7143751. [PMID: 37101361 PMCID: PMC10133397 DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkad028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stacy Loeb
- Departments of Urology and Population Health, New York University Langone Health; Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matthew R Cooperberg
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - William J Catalona
- Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
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23
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Laditi F, Nie J, Hsiang W, Umer W, Haleem A, Marks V, Buck M, Leapman MS. Access to urologic cancer care for Medicaid-insured patients. Urol Oncol 2023; 41:206.e21-206.e27. [PMID: 36740488 DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2023.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The expansion of state Medicaid programs associated with the Affordable Care Act has led to significant increases in insurance coverage for economically vulnerable patients, however barriers to accessing cancer care still exist. To develop strategies to improve healthcare access, we characterized access to new urologic cancer care for patients with Medicaid insurance in the United States. METHODS Using a secret shopper approach, we contacted a representative sample of facilities designated for cancer care in United States. Trained volunteers posed as a family member seeking urologic cancer care using a simulated scenario of a parent with a new diagnosis of a localized kidney tumor. The primary study outcome was acceptance of Medicaid. In addition, we assessed facility characteristics associated with Medicaid acceptance relating to state Medicaid expansion status, Medicare reimbursement rates, and teaching hospital status using data from the Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital General Information data file, the American Hospital Directory, and the American Medical Association of Colleges Organizational Characteristics Database. RESULTS We sampled a total of 389 facilities, of which 14.4% did not accept new Medicaid patients. Medicaid acceptance was higher in facilities located in states that elected to expand Medicaid through the ACA vs. non-expansion states (90.1% vs. 77.4% respectively, P < 0.001). Facilities accepting patients with Medicaid were located in states with higher mean Medicaid-to-Medicare fee indexes (0.70 for Medicaid-accepting vs. 0.65 for non-accepting facilities, P < 0.001). In addition, Medicaid acceptance was higher in teaching hospitals vs. non-teaching facilities (93.8% vs. 83.4% P = 0.02), and medical school affiliated facilities (89.2% vs. 79.7% P = 0.01). CONCLUSION We identified access disparities for patients with Medicaid insurance seeking urologic cancer care at centers. These findings highlight opportunities to improve the quality and timeliness of cancer care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Folawiyo Laditi
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Walter Hsiang
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Waez Umer
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Afash Haleem
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Victoria Marks
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Matthew Buck
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
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24
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Rahman SN, Lokeshwar SD, Syed JS, Javier-Desloges JF, Press BH, Choksi AU, Rajwa P, Pradere B, Ploussard G, Kim JW, Monaghan TF, Renzulli JR, Shariat SF, Leapman MS. Oncologic outcomes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with micropapillary variant urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Urol Oncol 2023; 41:107.e1-107.e8. [PMID: 36481253 DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2022.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is lack of consensus about the effectiveness of neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with micropapillary variant urothelial carcinoma (MVUC) prior to radical cystectomy. We studied the association between neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and pathologic response (PR) among patients with micropapillary versus non-variant bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC). METHODS We queried the National Cancer Database to identify patients with localized UC and MVUC from 2004 to 2017. We restricted our analysis to patients who underwent radical cystectomy with or without NAC. We compared clinical, demographic, and pathologic characteristics associated with NAC. We used multivariable logistic regression and propensity score matching to examine the association between NAC and the occurrence of a pathologic complete response (pT0) and pathologic lymph node positivity (pN+). Kaplan Meier analyses and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess overall survival (OS). We performed analyses among subsets of patients with clinical stage II (cT2) disease, as well as the entire cohort (cT2-T4). RESULTS We identified 18,761 patients, including 18,027 with non-variant UC and 734 patients with MVUC. Multivariable analysis revealed that NAC use was associated with greater odds of pT0 (9.64[7.62-12.82], P<0.001), and the association did not differ significantly between MVUC and non-variant UC. In a propensity matched analysis of patients with MVUC, NAC use was associated with higher odds of pT0 (OR 4.93 [2.43-13.18] P<0.001), lower odds of pN+ (OR 0.52 [0.26-0.92] P=0.047) and pathologic upstaging (OR 0.63 [0.34-0.97] P=0.042) in all stages. Similar findings were observed with cT2 disease. No significant association was seen between NAC and OS with MVUC (HR 0.89 [0.46-1.10] P=0.63), including the subset of patients with cT2 (HR 0.83 [0.49-1.06] P=0.58). CONCLUSIONS NAC is associated with similar pathologic and nodal responses in patients with localized MVUC and non-variant UC. Improvements in pathologic findings did not translate into OS in this retrospective hospital-based registry study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed N Rahman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Soum D Lokeshwar
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Jamil S Syed
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | | | - Benjamin H Press
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Ankur U Choksi
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Pawel Rajwa
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland
| | - Benjamin Pradere
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Joseph W Kim
- Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Thomas F Monaghan
- Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Joseph R Renzulli
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Shahrokh F Shariat
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia; Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Division of Urology, Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
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25
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Dzimitrowicz HE, Wilson LE, Jackson BE, Spees LP, Baggett CD, Greiner MA, Kaye DR, Zhang T, George D, Scales CD, Pritchard JE, Leapman MS, Gross CP, Dinan MA, Wheeler SB. End-of-Life Care for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in the Era of Oral Anticancer Therapy. JCO Oncol Pract 2023; 19:e213-e227. [PMID: 36413741 PMCID: PMC9970274 DOI: 10.1200/op.22.00401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE New therapies including oral anticancer agents (OAAs) have improved outcomes for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). However, little is known about the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care and systemic therapy use at EOL in patients receiving OAAs or with mRCC. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed EOL care for decedents with mRCC in two parallel cohorts: (1) patients (RCC diagnosed 2004-2015) from the University of North Carolina's Cancer Information and Population Health Resource (CIPHR) and (2) patients (diagnosed 2007-2015) from SEER-Medicare. We assessed hospice use in the last 30 days of life and existing measures of poor-quality EOL care: systemic therapy, hospital admission, intensive care unit admission, and > 1 ED visit in the last 30 days of life; hospice initiation in the last 3 days of life; and in-hospital death. Associations between OAA use, patient and provider characteristics, and EOL care were examined using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS We identified 410 decedents in the CIPHR cohort (53.4% received OAA) and 1,508 in SEER-Medicare (43.5% received OAA). Prior OAA use was associated with increased systemic therapy in the last 30 days of life in both cohorts (CIPHR: 26.5% v 11.0%; P < .001; SEER-Medicare: 23.4% v 11.7%; P < .001), increased in-hospital death in CIPHR, and increased hospice in the last 30 days in SEER-Medicare. Older patients were less likely to receive systemic therapy or be admitted in the last 30 days or die in hospital. CONCLUSION Patients with mRCC who received OAAs and younger patients experienced more aggressive EOL care, suggesting opportunities to optimize high-quality EOL care in these groups.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lauren E. Wilson
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | | | - Lisa P. Spees
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Christopher D. Baggett
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Melissa A. Greiner
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Deborah R. Kaye
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
- Duke Cancer Institute Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers, Durham, NC
| | - Tian Zhang
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC
| | - Daniel George
- Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
- Duke Cancer Institute Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers, Durham, NC
| | - Charles D. Scales
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Jessica E. Pritchard
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT
| | - Cary P. Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Michaela A. Dinan
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
| | - Stephanie B. Wheeler
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC
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Leapman MS, Thiel CL, Gordon IO, Nolte AC, Perecman A, Loeb S, Overcash M, Sherman JD. Environmental Impact of Prostate Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Transrectal Ultrasound Guided Prostate Biopsy. Eur Urol 2023; 83:463-471. [PMID: 36635108 DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2022.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reducing low-value clinical care is an important strategy to mitigate environmental pollution caused by health care. OBJECTIVE To estimate the environmental impacts associated with prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and prostate biopsy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We performed a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of prostate biopsy. Data included materials and energy inventory, patient and staff travel contributed by prostate MRI, transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy, and pathology analysis. We compared environmental emissions across five clinical scenarios: multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) of the prostate with targeted and systematic biopsies (baseline), mpMRI with targeted biopsy cores only, systematic biopsy without MRI, mpMRI with systematic biopsy, and biparametric MRI (bpMRI) with targeted and systematic biopsies. We estimated the environmental impacts associated with reducing the overall number and varying the approach of a prostate biopsy by using MRI as a triage strategy or by omitting MRI. The study involved academic medical centers in the USA, outpatient urology clinics, health care facilities, medical staff, and patients. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalents, CO2e), and equivalents of coal and gasoline burned were measured. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS In the USA, a single transrectal prostate biopsy procedure including prostate MRI, and targeted and systematic biopsies emits an estimated 80.7 kg CO2e. An approach of MRI targeted cores alone without a systematic biopsy generated 76.2 kg CO2e, a systematic 12-core biopsy without mpMRI generated 36.2 kg CO2e, and bpMRI with targeted and systematic biopsies generated 70.5 kg CO2e; mpMRI alone contributed 42.7 kg CO2e (54.3% of baseline scenario). Energy was the largest contributor, with an estimated 38.1 kg CO2e, followed by staff travel (20.7 kg CO2e) and supply production (11.4 kg CO2e). Performing 100 000 fewer unnecessary biopsies would avoid 8.1 million kg CO2e, the equivalent of 4.1 million liters of gasoline consumed. Per 100 000 patients, the use of prostate MRI to triage prostate biopsy and guide targeted biopsy cores would save the equivalent of 1.4 million kg of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of 700 000 l of gasoline consumed. This analysis was limited to prostate MRI and biopsy, and does not account for downstream clinical management. CONCLUSIONS A prostate biopsy contributes a calculable environmental footprint. Modifying or reducing the number of biopsies performed through existing evidence-based approaches would decrease health care pollution from the procedure. PATIENT SUMMARY We estimated that prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a prostate biopsy procedure emits the equivalent of 80.7 kg of carbon dioxide. Performing fewer unnecessary prostate biopsies or using prostate MRI as a tool to decide which patients should have a prostate biopsy would reduce procedural greenhouse gas emissions and health care pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Cassandra L Thiel
- Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pathology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | | | | | | | - Stacy Loeb
- Department of Urology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA; Departments of Urology and Population Health, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA; Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Jodi D Sherman
- Department of Anesthesiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
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Baboudjian M, Breda A, Rajwa P, Gallioli A, Gondran-Tellier B, Sanguedolce F, Verri P, Diana P, Territo A, Bastide C, Spratt DE, Loeb S, Tosoian JJ, Leapman MS, Palou J, Ploussard G. Active Surveillance for Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Metaregression. Eur Urol Oncol 2022; 5:617-627. [PMID: 35934625 DOI: 10.1016/j.euo.2022.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Active surveillance (AS) is increasingly selected among patients with localized, intermediate-risk (IR) prostate cancer (PCa). However, the safety and optimal candidate selection for those with IR PCa remain uncertain. OBJECTIVE To evaluate treatment-free survival and oncologic outcomes in patients with IR PCa managed with AS and to compare with AS outcomes in low-risk (LR) PCa patients. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A literature search was conducted through February 2022 using PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed to identify eligible studies. The coprimary outcomes were treatment-free, metastasis-free, cancer-specific, and overall survival. A subgroup analysis was planned a priori to explore AS outcomes when limiting inclusion to IR patients with a Gleason grade (GG) of ≤2. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS A total of 25 studies including 29 673 unselected IR patients met our inclusion criteria. The 10-yr treatment-free, metastasis-free, cancer-specific, and overall survival ranged from 19.4% to 69%, 80.8% to 99%, 88.2% to 99%, and 59.4% to 83.9%, respectively. IR patients had similar treatment-free survival to LR patients (risk ratio [RR] 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.99-1.36, p = 0.07), but significantly higher risks of metastasis (RR 5.79, 95% CI, 4.61-7.29, p < 0.001), death from PCa (RR 3.93, 95% CI, 2.93-5.27, p < 0.001), and all-cause death (RR 1.44, 95% CI, 1.11-1.86, p = 0.005). In a subgroup analysis of studies including patients with GG ≤2 only (n = 4), treatment-free survival (RR 1.03, 95% CI, 0.62-1.71, p = 0.91) and metastasis-free survival (RR 2.09, 95% CI, 0.75-5.82, p = 0.16) were similar between LR and IR patients. Treatment-free survival was significantly reduced in subgroups of patients with unfavorable IR disease and increased cancer length on biopsy. CONCLUSIONS The present systematic review and meta-analysis highlight the need to optimize patient selection for those with IR features. Our findings support limiting the inclusion of IR patients in AS to those with low-volume GG 2 tumor. PATIENT SUMMARY Active surveillance is increasingly used in patients with localized, intermediate-risk (IR) prostate cancer. In this population, we have reported higher risks of metastasis and cancer mortality in unselected patients than in patients with low-risk features, underscoring the need to optimize the selection of patients with IR features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Baboudjian
- Department of Urology, APHM, North Academic Hospital, Marseille, France; Department of Urology, APHM, La Conception Hospital, Marseille, France; Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Urology, La Croix du Sud Hôpital, Quint Fonsegrives, France.
| | - Alberto Breda
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pawel Rajwa
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland
| | - Andrea Gallioli
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Francesco Sanguedolce
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, Université degli Studi di Sassari, Italy
| | - Paolo Verri
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pietro Diana
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Angelo Territo
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cyrille Bastide
- Department of Urology, APHM, North Academic Hospital, Marseille, France
| | - Daniel E Spratt
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Stacy Loeb
- Department of Urology and Population Health, New York University and Manhattan Veterans Affairs, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jeffrey J Tosoian
- Department of Urology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Joan Palou
- Department of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Autonoma University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Guillaume Ploussard
- Department of Urology, La Croix du Sud Hôpital, Quint Fonsegrives, France; Department of Urology, Institut Universitaire du Cancer Toulouse Oncopole, Toulouse, France
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Marks VA, Hsiang WR, Umer W, Haleem A, Kim D, Kunstman JW, Leapman MS, Schuster KM. Access to telehealth services for colorectal cancer patients in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Surg 2022; 224:1267-1273. [PMID: 35701240 PMCID: PMC9176198 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic yielded rapid telehealth deployment to improve healthcare access, including for surgical patients. METHODS We conducted a secret shopper study to assess telehealth availability for new patient and follow-up colorectal cancer care visits in a random national sample of Commission on Cancer accredited hospitals and investigated predictive facility-level factors. RESULTS Of 397 hospitals, 302 (76%) offered telehealth for colorectal cancer patients (75% for follow-up, 42% for new patients). For new patients, NCI-designated Cancer Programs offered telehealth more frequently than Integrated Network (OR: 0.20, p = 0.01), Academic Comprehensive (OR: 0.18, p = 0.001), Comprehensive Community (OR: 0.10, p < 0.001), and Community (OR: 0.11, p < 0.001) Cancer Programs. For follow-up, above average timeliness of care hospitals offered telehealth more frequently than average hospitals (OR: 2.87, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS We identified access disparities and predictive factors for telehealth availability for colorectal cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors should be considered when constructing telehealth policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria A Marks
- Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - Walter R Hsiang
- Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
| | - Waez Umer
- The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Rd, Ewing Township, NJ, 08618, USA.
| | - Afash Haleem
- The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Rd, Ewing Township, NJ, 08618, USA.
| | - Dana Kim
- Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - John W Kunstman
- Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; VA Connecticut Medical Center, 950 Campbell St, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, 367 Cedar St, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - Kevin M Schuster
- Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
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Nabavizadeh B, Li KD, Hakam N, Shaw NM, Leapman MS, Breyer BN. Incidence of circumcision among insured adults in the United States. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275207. [PMID: 36251658 PMCID: PMC9576047 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Although circumcision is the most commonly performed surgery in males, less is known about the incidence and indications of adult circumcision. In this study, we aim to present the incidence of adult circumcision across the United States. Methods Using IBM MarketScan® Commercial Database from 2015 to 2018, we obtained claims for circumcision in men between 18 and 64 years of age. We calculated the incidence of adult circumcision over the study period and across the United States. We also collected data on indications for surgery using International Classification of Diseases codes. Results We identified a total of 12,298 claims for adult circumcisions. The mean age was 39 (±12.9) years. The average incidence rates remained relatively constant from 98.1 per 100,000 person-years in 2015 to 98.2 per 100,000 person-years in 2018 (Δ+0.1%). The age-standardized incidence rates varied significantly across the United States (from 0 to 194.8 per 100,000 person-years) with South Dakota having the highest rate. The most common indications for adult circumcision were phimosis (52.5%), routine/ritual circumcision (28.7%), phimosis + balanitis/balanoposthitis (6.8%), balanitis (3.8%) and balanoposthitis (2.6%), and significantly varied by age groups. Conclusion This study suggested a wide geographic variation in rates of adult circumcision between states with highest incidences in the Northeast United States. Future studies can identify the underlying causes for the observed variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behnam Nabavizadeh
- Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Kevin D. Li
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Nizar Hakam
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Nathan M. Shaw
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Benjamin N. Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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30
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Dinan MA, Wilson LE, Greiner MA, Spees LP, Pritchard JE, Zhang T, Kaye D, George D, Scales CD, Baggett CD, Gross CP, Leapman MS, Wheeler SB. Oral Anticancer Agent (OAA) Adherence and Survival in Elderly Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (mRCC). Urology 2022; 168:129-136. [PMID: 35878815 PMCID: PMC9588695 DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2022.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine real-world adherence to oral anticancer agents (OAAs) and its association with outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). METHODS SEER-Medicare retrospective cohort study of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who received an OAA between 2007 and 2015. We examined A) adherence and B) overall and disease-specific 2-year survival landmarked at 3 months after OAA initiation. Adherence was assessed by calculating the proportion of days covered (PDC) within 3 months of OAA initiation, with adherent use being defined as PDC > 80%. RESULTS A total of 905 patients met study criteria, of whom 445 patients (49.2%) were categorized as adherent to initial OAA treatment. Adjusting for clinical and demographic factors revealed decreased odds of adherence associated with living within an impoverished neighborhood (OR 0.49, CI 0.0.33 - 0.74) and out-of-pocket costs > $200 (OR 0.68, CI 0.47-.98). Adherence was associated with improved 2-year survival in univariate analysis (logrank test, P = .01) and a non-significant trend toward an association with decreased all-cause (HR 0.87, CI 0.72 - 1.05) and RCC-specific survival (HR 0.84, CI 0.69 - 1.03) in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION Local poverty levels and high out-of-pocket costs are associated with poor initial adherence to OAA therapy in Medicare beneficiaries with mRCC, which in turn, suggests a trend toward poor overall and disease-specific survival. Efforts to improve outcomes in the broader mRCC population should incorporate OAA adherence and economic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela A Dinan
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT.
| | - Lauren E Wilson
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Melissa A Greiner
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Lisa P Spees
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Jessica E Pritchard
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Tian Zhang
- Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Duke Cancer Institute Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Deborah Kaye
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Daniel George
- Duke Cancer Institute Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Charles D Scales
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Chris D Baggett
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC; Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Cary P Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT; Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT; Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Stephanie B Wheeler
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC
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Lokeshwar SD, Nguyen J, Rahman SN, Khajir G, Ho R, Ghabili K, Leapman MS, Weinreb JC, Sprenkle PC. Clinical utility of MR/ultrasound fusion-guided biopsy in patients with lower suspicion lesions on active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer. Urol Oncol 2022; 40:407.e21-407.e27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2022.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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Paulson N, Zeevi T, Papademetris M, Leapman MS, Onofrey JA, Sprenkle PC, Humphrey PA, Staib LH, Levi AW. Prediction of Adverse Pathology at Radical Prostatectomy in Grade Group 2 and 3 Prostate Biopsies Using Machine Learning. JCO Clin Cancer Inform 2022; 6:e2200016. [PMID: 36179281 DOI: 10.1200/cci.22.00016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE There is ongoing clinical need to improve estimates of disease outcome in prostate cancer. Machine learning (ML) approaches to pathologic diagnosis and prognosis are a promising and increasingly used strategy. In this study, we use an ML algorithm for prediction of adverse outcomes at radical prostatectomy (RP) using whole-slide images (WSIs) of prostate biopsies with Grade Group (GG) 2 or 3 disease. METHODS We performed a retrospective review of prostate biopsies collected at our institution which had corresponding RP, GG 2 or 3 disease one or more cores, and no biopsies with higher than GG 3 disease. A hematoxylin and eosin-stained core needle biopsy from each site with GG 2 or 3 disease was scanned and used as the sole input for the algorithm. The ML pipeline had three phases: image preprocessing, feature extraction, and adverse outcome prediction. First, patches were extracted from each biopsy scan. Subsequently, the pre-trained Visual Geometry Group-16 convolutional neural network was used for feature extraction. A representative feature vector was then used as input to an Extreme Gradient Boosting classifier for predicting the binary adverse outcome. We subsequently assessed patient clinical risk using CAPRA score for comparison with the ML pipeline results. RESULTS The data set included 361 WSIs from 107 patients (56 with adverse pathology at RP). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the ML classification were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.81), 0.65 (95% CI, 0.53 to 0.79) and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.79 to 1.00) for the entire cohort, and GG 2 and GG 3 patients, respectively, similar to the performance of the CAPRA clinical risk assessment. CONCLUSION We provide evidence for the potential of ML algorithms to use WSIs of needle core prostate biopsies to estimate clinically relevant prostate cancer outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tal Zeevi
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
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Rajwa P, Hopen P, Wojnarowicz J, Kaletka J, Paszkiewicz I, Lach-Wojnarowicz O, Mostafaei H, Krajewski W, D’Andrea D, Małkiewicz B, Paradysz A, Ploussard G, Moschini M, Breyer BN, Pradere B, Shariat SF, Leapman MS. Online Crowdfunding for Urologic Cancer Care. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14174104. [PMID: 36077641 PMCID: PMC9454944 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14174104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: we aimed to characterize the financial needs expressed through online crowdfunding for urologic cancers. Methods: the data used in this study came from the online crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.com. Using an automated software method, we extracted data for campaigns related to urologic cancers. Subsequently, four independent investigators reviewed all extracted data on prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancer. We analyzed campaigns’ basic characteristics, goals, fundraising, type of treatment and factors associated with successful campaigns. Results: in total, we identified 2126 individual campaigns, which were related to direct treatment costs (34%), living expenses (17%) or both (48%). Median fundraising amounts were greatest for testicular cancer. Campaigns for both complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) (median $11,000) or CAM alone (median $8527) achieved higher fundraising totals compared with those for conventional treatments alone (median $5362) (p < 0.01). The number of social media shares was independently associated with campaign success and highest quartile of fundraising. Conclusions: using an automated web-based approach, we identified and characterized online crowdfunding for urologic cancer care. These findings indicated a diverse range of patient needs related to urologic care and factors related to campaigns’ success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel Rajwa
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Philip Hopen
- Data Science & Clinical Analytics, New Century Health, Boston, MA 02481, USA
| | - Jakub Wojnarowicz
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Julia Kaletka
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Iga Paszkiewicz
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
| | | | - Hadi Mostafaei
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Wojciech Krajewski
- Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, University Center of Excellence in Urology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - David D’Andrea
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Bartosz Małkiewicz
- Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, University Center of Excellence in Urology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej Paradysz
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Guillaume Ploussard
- Department of Urology, La Croix du Sud Hospital, 31130 Quint Fonsegrives, France
| | - Marco Moschini
- Division of Oncology, Unit of Urology, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Benjamin N. Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Benjamin Pradere
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, La Croix du Sud Hospital, 31130 Quint Fonsegrives, France
| | - Shahrokh F. Shariat
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, 119435 Moscow, Russia
- Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10021, USA
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
- Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 15006 Prague, Czech Republic
- Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman 19328, Jordan
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-203-785-3128
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Shaw NM, Hakam N, Lui J, Abbasi B, Sudhakar A, Leapman MS, Breyer BN. COVID-19 Misinformation and Social Network Crowdfunding: Cross-sectional Study of Alternative Treatments and Antivaccine Mandates. J Med Internet Res 2022; 24:e38395. [PMID: 35820053 PMCID: PMC9337619 DOI: 10.2196/38395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Crowdfunding is increasingly used to offset the financial burdens of illness and health care. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated infodemic, the role of crowdfunding to support controversial COVID-19 stances is unknown. OBJECTIVE We sought to examine COVID-19-related crowdfunding focusing on the funding of alternative treatments not endorsed by major medical entities, including campaigns with an explicit antivaccine, antimask, or antihealth care stances. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional analysis of GoFundMe campaigns for individuals requesting donations for COVID-19 relief. Campaigns were identified by key word and manual review to categorize campaigns into "Traditional treatments," "Alternative treatments," "Business-related," "Mandate," "First Response," and "General." For each campaign, we extracted basic narrative, engagement, and financial variables. Among those that were manually reviewed, the additional variables of "mandate type," "mandate stance," and presence of COVID-19 misinformation within the campaign narrative were also included. COVID-19 misinformation was defined as "false or misleading statements," where cited evidence could be provided to refute the claim. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study cohort. RESULTS A total of 30,368 campaigns met the criteria for final analysis. After manual review, we identified 53 campaigns (0.17%) seeking funding for alternative medical treatment for COVID-19, including popularized treatments such as ivermectin (n=14, 26%), hydroxychloroquine (n=6, 11%), and vitamin D (n=4, 7.5%). Moreover, 23 (43%) of the 53 campaigns seeking support for alternative treatments contained COVID-19 misinformation. There were 80 campaigns that opposed mandating masks or vaccination, 48 (60%) of which contained COVID-19 misinformation. Alternative treatment campaigns had a lower median amount raised (US $1135) compared to traditional (US $2828) treatments (P<.001) and a lower median percentile of target achieved (11.9% vs 31.1%; P=.003). Campaigns for alternative treatments raised substantially lower amounts (US $115,000 vs US $52,715,000, respectively) and lower proportions of fundraising goals (2.1% vs 12.5%) for alternative versus conventional campaigns. The median goal for campaigns was significantly higher (US $25,000 vs US $10,000) for campaigns opposing mask or vaccine mandates relative to those in support of upholding mandates (P=.04). Campaigns seeking funding to lift mandates on health care workers reached US $622 (0.15%) out of a US $410,000 goal. CONCLUSIONS A small minority of web-based crowdfunding campaigns for COVID-19 were directed at unproven COVID-19 treatments and support for campaigns aimed against masking or vaccine mandates. Approximately half (71/133, 53%) of these campaigns contained verifiably false or misleading information and had limited fundraising success. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) RR2-10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.3330.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Shaw
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Nizar Hakam
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Jason Lui
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Behzad Abbasi
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Architha Sudhakar
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Benjamin N Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Hanchuk S, Casilla-Lennon M, Zheng S, Kim DD, Press B, Nguyen JV, Grimshaw A, Leapman MS, Rickey LM, Cavallo JA. The Medical Community's Evolving Focus on Physician and Surgeon Pregnancy: Thematic Trends From a Scoping Review. Acad Med 2022; 97:1071-1078. [PMID: 35171119 PMCID: PMC9247020 DOI: 10.1097/acm.0000000000004629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The authors aimed to chronicle the evolution of the medical community's study of physician and surgeon pregnancy by investigating thematic trends in the literature in the context of pertinent sociopolitical events. METHOD A scoping review was conducted in Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection from inception through August 11, 2020, using vocabulary and terms for physicians (including surgeons), pregnancy, and family leave. Study populations were categorized by all physician specialties or exclusively surgical specialties as well as by all career levels or exclusively trainees. Subthemes and themes were based on a priori assumptions of physician pregnancy and extrapolated from previously published reviews, respectively. Thematic trends were analyzed by plotting the total number of publications and the frequency of themes and subthemes by publication year. RESULTS After title and abstract and full-text reviews, 407 manuscripts met inclusion criteria. Publications on physician pregnancy first emerged in the 1960s and surged from 1988 to 1996 and again from 2010 to 2019. The first known manuscript exclusively on surgeon pregnancy was published in 1991; subsequent publication frequency trends for surgeon pregnancy generally paralleled those for all physician pregnancy publications albeit in reduced quantities. Four major themes were found: impact of pregnancy on the physician and her colleagues, pregnant physician work productivity, physician maternity leave policies, and physician maternal-fetal health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS As the number of women physicians increased and the sociopolitical environment progressed, the thematic focus of the literature on physician pregnancy evolved. Multi-institutional prospective observational studies are needed to develop definitive evidence-based recommendations that will positively impact physician pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Hanchuk
- S. Hanchuk is a resident, Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Marianne Casilla-Lennon
- M. Casilla-Lennon is a resident, Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Sijin Zheng
- S. Zheng is a medical student, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - David D Kim
- D.D. Kim is a medical student, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Benjamin Press
- B. Press is a resident, Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Justin V Nguyen
- J.V. Nguyen is a resident, Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Alyssa Grimshaw
- A. Grimshaw is librarian, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael S Leapman
- M.S. Leapman is assistant professor, Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven and Newington, Connecticut
| | - Leslie M Rickey
- L.M. Rickey is associate professor, Department of Urology and Urogynecology & Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jaime A Cavallo
- J.A. Cavallo is assistant professor, Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven and Newington, Connecticut
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Marks VA, Hsiang WR, Nie J, Demkowicz P, Umer W, Haleem A, Galal B, Pak I, Kim D, Salazar MC, Berger ER, Boffa DJ, Leapman MS. Acceptance of Simulated Adult Patients With Medicaid Insurance Seeking Care in a Cancer Hospital for a New Cancer Diagnosis. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5:e2222214. [PMID: 35838668 PMCID: PMC9287756 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.22214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Although there have been significant increases in the number of US residents insured through Medicaid, the ability of patients with Medicaid to access cancer care services is less well known. OBJECTIVE To assess facility-level acceptance of Medicaid insurance among patients diagnosed with common cancers. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This national cross-sectional secret shopper study was conducted in 2020 in a random sample of Commission on Cancer-accredited facilities in the United States using a simulated cohort of Medicaid-insured adult patients with colorectal, breast, kidney, and melanoma skin cancer. EXPOSURES Telephone call requesting an appointment for a patient with Medicaid with a new cancer diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Acceptance of Medicaid insurance for cancer care. Descriptive statistics, χ2 tests, and multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine factors associated with Medicaid acceptance for colorectal, breast, kidney, and skin cancer. High access hospitals were defined as those offering care across all 4 cancer types surveyed. Explanatory measures included facility-level factors from the 2016 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services General Information database. RESULTS A nationally representative sample of 334 facilities was created, of which 226 (67.7%) provided high access to patients with Medicaid seeking cancer care. Medicaid acceptance differed by cancer site, with 319 facilities (95.5%) accepting Medicaid insurance for breast cancer care; 302 (90.4%), colorectal; 290 (86.8%), kidney; and 266 (79.6%), skin. Comprehensive community cancer programs (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.7; P = .007) were significantly less likely to provide high access to care for patients with Medicaid. Facilities with nongovernment, nonprofit (vs for-profit: OR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.1-10.8; P = .03) and government (vs for-profit: OR, 6.6; 95% CI, 1.6-27.2; P = .01) ownership, integrated salary models (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.5-4.5; P = .001), and average (vs above-average: OR, 6.4; 95% CI, 1.4-29.6; P = .02) or below-average (vs above-average: OR, 8.4; 95% CI, 1.5-47.5; P = .02) effectiveness of care were associated with high access to Medicaid. State Medicaid expansion status was not significantly associated with high access. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study identified access disparities for patients with Medicaid insurance at centers designated for high-quality care. These findings highlight gaps in cancer care for the expanding population of patients receiving Medicaid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria A. Marks
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Walter R. Hsiang
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- University of California San Francisco
| | - James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Patrick Demkowicz
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | | | | | - Irene Pak
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Dana Kim
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | | | - Daniel J. Boffa
- Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael S. Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
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Laditi F, Nie J, Jones T, Leapman MS. Variation and Disparity in the Use of Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification Tools in the United States. Eur Urol Focus 2022; 8:910-912. [PMID: 35778364 DOI: 10.1016/j.euf.2022.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In this review we summarize evidence from US studies examining variation in the use of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tissue-based gene expression tests (genomic tests), focusing on sources of regional and racial variation. Large observational studies indicate that prostate MRI and genomic testing vary significantly at the regional level as measured across multiple geographic boundaries. Similarly, there is lower use of prostate MRI among Black versus White-identified patients Black in comparison to those who are White, as well as evidence of less use among Hispanic and Asian versus White patients. These findings indicate opportunities to address modifiable sources of practice variation in localized prostate cancer. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this review, we found that use of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and genetic testing differed by region, and race, with less prostate MRI use among Black versus White patients. These findings can help raise awareness about gaps in access to new prostate cancer tools.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James Nie
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Tashzna Jones
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Kaye DR, Wilson LE, Greiner MA, Spees LP, Pritchard JE, Zhang T, Pollack CE, George D, Scales CD, Baggett CD, Gross CP, Leapman MS, Wheeler SB, Dinan MA. Patient, provider, and hospital factors associated with oral anti-neoplastic agent initiation and adherence in older patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. J Geriatr Oncol 2022; 13:614-623. [PMID: 35125336 PMCID: PMC9232903 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2022.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Oral anti-neoplastic agents (OAAs) for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) are associated with increased cancer-specific survival. However, racial disparities in survival persist and older adults have the lowest rates of cancer-specific survival. Research from other cancers demonstrates specialty access is associated with high-quality cancer care, but older adults receive cancer treatment less often than younger adults. We therefore examined whether patient, provider, and hospital characteristics were associated with OAA initiation, adherence, and cancer-specific survival after initiation and whether race, ethnicity, and/or age was associated with an increased likelihood of seeing a medical oncologist for diagnosis of mRCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)Medicare data to identify patients ≥65 years of age who were diagnosed with mRCC from 2007 to 2015 and enrolled in Medicare Part D. Insurance claims were used to identify receipt of OAAs within twelve months of metastatic diagnosis, calculate proportion of days covered, and to identify the primary cancer provider and hospital. We examined provider and hospital characteristics associated with OAA initiation, adherence, and all-cause mortality after OAA initiation. RESULTS We identified 2792 patients who met inclusion criteria. Increased OAA initiation was associated with access to a medical oncologist. Patients were less likely to begin OAA treatment if their primary oncologic provider was a urologist (hazard ratio [HR] 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49-0.77). Provider/hospital characteristics were not associated with differences in OAA adherence or mortality. Patients who started sorafenib (odds ratio [OR] 0.50; 95% CI 0.29-0.86), were older (aged >81 OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.34-0.92), and those living in high poverty ZIP codes (OR 0.48; 95% CI 0.29-0.80) were less likely to adhere to OAA treatment. Furthermore, provider characteristics did not account for differences in mortality once an OAA was initiated. Last, only age > 81 years was statistically and clinically associated with a decreased relative risk of seeing a medical oncologist (risk ratio [RR] 0.87; CI 0.82-0.92). CONCLUSION Provider/hospital factors, specifically, being seen by a medical oncologist for mRCC diagnosis, are associated with OAA initiation. Older patients were less likely to see a medical oncologist; however, race and/or ethnicity was not associated with differences in seeing a medical oncologist. Patient factors are more critical to OAA adherence and mortality after OAA initiation than provider/hospital factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah R Kaye
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America; Duke-Margolis Policy Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Lauren E Wilson
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Melissa A Greiner
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Lisa P Spees
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Jessica E Pritchard
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Tian Zhang
- Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, United States of America; Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Craig E Pollack
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Daniel George
- Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, United States of America; Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Charles D Scales
- Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America; Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Chris D Baggett
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America; Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Cary P Gross
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America; Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, CT, United States of America; Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Stephanie B Wheeler
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Michaela A Dinan
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Benjamin N Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
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Leapman MS, Dinan M, Pasha S, Long J, Washington SL, Ma X, Gross CP. Mediators of Racial Disparity in the Use of Prostate Magnetic Resonance Imaging Among Patients With Prostate Cancer. JAMA Oncol 2022; 8:687-696. [PMID: 35238879 PMCID: PMC8895315 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.8116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Importance Racial disparity in the use of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) presents obstacles to closing gaps in prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcome. Objective To identify clinical, sociodemographic, and structural processes underlying racial disparity in the use of prostate MRI among men with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants This population-based cohort study used mediation analysis to assess claims in the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database for prostate MRI among 39 534 patients with a diagnosis of localized prostate cancer from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2015. Statistical analysis was performed from April 1, 2020, to September 1, 2021. Exposure Diagnosis of prostate cancer. Main Outcomes and Measures Claims for prostate MRI within 6 months before or after diagnosis of prostate cancer were assessed. Candidate clinical and sociodemographic meditators were identified based on their association with both race and prostate MRI, including the Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE), as specified to measure racialized residential segregation. Mediation analysis was performed using nonlinear multiple additive regression trees models to estimate the direct and indirect effects of mediators. Results A total of 39 534 eligible male patients (3979 Black patients [10.1%] and 32 585 White patients [82.4%]; mean [SD] age, 72.8 [5.3] years) were identified. Black patients with prostate cancer were less likely than White patients to receive a prostate MRI (6.3% vs 9.9%; unadjusted odds ratio, 0.62, 95% CI, 0.54-0.70). Approximately 24% (95% CI, 14%-32%) of the racial disparity in prostate MRI use between Black and White patients was attributable to geographic differences (SEER registry), 19% (95% CI, 11%-28%) was attributable to neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (residence in a high-poverty area), 19% (95% CI, 10%-29%) was attributable to racialized residential segregation (ICE quintile), and 11% (95% CI, 7%-16%) was attributable to a marker of individual-level socioeconomic status (dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid). Clinical and pathologic factors were not significant mediators. In this model, the identified mediators accounted for 81% (95% CI, 64%-98%) of the observed racial disparity in prostate MRI use between Black and White patients. Conclusions and Relevance In this this population-based cohort study of US adults, mediation analysis revealed that sociodemographic factors and manifestations of structural racism, including poverty and residential segregation, explained most of the racial disparity in the use of prostate MRI among older Black and White men with prostate cancer. These findings can be applied to develop targeted strategies to improve cancer care equity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S. Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michaela Dinan
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Saamir Pasha
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jessica Long
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Samuel L. Washington
- Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco
| | - Xiaomei Ma
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Cary P. Gross
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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Nie J, Hsiang W, Marks V, Laditi F, Varghese A, Umer W, Haleem A, Mothy D, Wang H, Patel R, Pan W, Shah R, Khan S, Singh R, Golla V, Cavallo J, Breyer BN, Leapman MS. Access to Urological Care for Medicaid-Insured Patients at Urology Practices Acquired by Private Equity Firms. Urology 2022; 164:112-117. [PMID: 35276202 DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2022.01.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To characterize appointment access for Medicaid-insured patients seeking care at urology practices affiliated with private equity firms in light of the recent national trends in practice consolidation. METHODS We identified 214 urology offices affiliated with private equity firms that were geographically matched with 231 non-private equity affiliated urology offices. Using a standardized script, researchers posed as an adult patient with either Medicaid or commercial insurance in the clinical setting of new onset, painless hematuria. The primary outcome was whether the patient's insurance was accepted for an appointment. The secondary outcome was appointment wait time. RESULTS We conducted 815 appointment inquiry calls to 214 PE and 231 non-PE-affiliated urology offices across 12 states. Appointment availability was higher for commercially-insured patients (99.0%; 95% CI: 98.1%-99.9%) versus Medicaid-insured patients (59.8%; 95% CI: 55.0%-64.6%) (p<0.0001). Medicaid acceptance was higher at non-PE affiliated (66.8%; CI 60.4%-73.2%) than PE-affiliated practices (52.1%; 95% CI 45.0%-59.2%) (p=0.003). On multivariable logistic regression analysis, state Medicaid expansion status (OR 2.20; CI 1.14-4.28; p=0.020) was independently associated with Medicaid appointment availability, whereas PE-affiliation (OR 0.55; CI 0.37-0.83; p=0.004) was independently associated with lower Medicaid access. Appointment wait times did not differ significantly for commercially-insured versus Medicaid patients (19.2 vs 20.1 days; p=0.59), but PE-affiliated practices offered shorter mean wait times than non-PE offices (17.5 vs 21.4 days; p=0.017). CONCLUSIONS Access disparities for urologic evaluation in patients with Medicaid insurance at urology practices and were more pronounced at private equity acquired practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Walter Hsiang
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Victoria Marks
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Folawiyo Laditi
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Adarsh Varghese
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Waez Umer
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Afash Haleem
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - David Mothy
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Hannah Wang
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Riya Patel
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - William Pan
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rishi Shah
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sophia Khan
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rohan Singh
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Jaime Cavallo
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Benjamin N Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Press BH, Jones T, Olawoyin O, Lokeshwar SD, Rahman SN, Khajir G, Lin DW, Cooperberg MR, Loeb S, Darst BF, Zheng Y, Chen RC, Witte JS, Seibert TM, Catalona WJ, Leapman MS, Sprenkle PC. Association Between a 22-feature Genomic Classifier and Biopsy Gleason Upgrade During Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer. EUR UROL SUPPL 2022; 37:113-119. [PMID: 35243396 PMCID: PMC8883188 DOI: 10.1016/j.euros.2022.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tashzna Jones
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Olamide Olawoyin
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Syed N. Rahman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ghazal Khajir
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Daniel W. Lin
- Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Cancer Prevention Program, Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Matthew R. Cooperberg
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Stacy Loeb
- Departments of Urology and Population Health, New York University Langone Health and Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Burcu F. Darst
- University of Southern California Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yingye Zheng
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Cancer Prevention Program, Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ronald C. Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
| | - John S. Witte
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Tyler M. Seibert
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - William J. Catalona
- Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Preston C. Sprenkle
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Tel. +1 203 7852815; Fax: +1 203 7378035.
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Buck M, Ghiraldi E, Demkowicz P, Park HS, An Y, Kann BH, Yu JB, Sprenkle PC, Kim IY, Leapman MS. Facility-Level Variation in Use of Locoregional Therapy for Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Urol Pract 2022; 9:140-149. [PMID: 37145694 DOI: 10.1097/upj.0000000000000290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We sought to understand patient- and institution-level factors associated with use of locoregional therapy for newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer in the era before the availability of evidence supporting its efficacy. METHODS We queried the National Cancer Database to identify patients diagnosed with metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma (stage M1) between 2004 and 2017. We assessed patient factors associated with definitive local therapy with radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy using multilevel logistic regression accounting for clustering within institutions. We further characterized trends in facility-level use and examined institutional factors associated with utilization. RESULTS We identified 35,933 patients with M1 prostate cancer at 1,188 facilities. A total of 4,146 patients (11.5%) received local therapy for M1 disease (radiation therapy in 3,378 and radical prostatectomy in 768). Use of local treatment was concentrated among a smaller number of facilities: 50% of all local therapy was delivered at 161 facilities (14% of total). At the patient level, uninsured status (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.49-0.79, p <0.01) and high comorbidity (Charlson-Deyo score, OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.26-0.6, p <0.01) were associated with lower odds of local therapy. High-utilizing facilities (top quartile) were more commonly community centers (OR 1.76, 95% CI 10.7-2.95, p <0.01) and differed by geographic region (South Atlantic vs West South Central region: OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.25-0.88, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS In the period before locoregional therapy was supported by clinical practice guidelines, locoregional therapy use varied significantly at the facility level and was driven by a smaller number of high-utilizing facilities. These findings can contextualize expected increase in the use of local therapy for metastatic prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Buck
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Eric Ghiraldi
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Henry S Park
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Yi An
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Benjamin H Kann
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - James B Yu
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Isaac Y Kim
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut
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Khajir G, Press B, Levi AW, Sprenkle PC, Leapman MS. Distribution of NCCN risk classifications using MRI-ultrasound fusion versus systematic 12 core biopsies. J Clin Oncol 2022. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2022.40.6_suppl.283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
283 Background: The widely-used National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) risk criteria for prostate cancer are impactful for patient and clinicians, particularly when assessing suitability for initial active surveillance. However, in the era of MRI-guided biopsy, fewer patients may meet stringent “very-low risk” criteria due to improved sampling, which may lead to over-treatment of non-lethal cancers. We evaluated the distribution of prostate cancer risk classification obtained using MRI-ultrasound fusion versus systematic 12 core biopsy. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients who underwent prostate MRI-ultrasound fusion biopsy at a single institution from January 2017 to July 2021. The primary study objective was to characterize the proportion of patients meeting NCCN “very-low risk” designation within a contemporary biopsy cohort. We calculated NCCN risk classifications (very low, low, favorable intermediate, unfavorable intermediate, high, and very high) based on constituent components (PSA, PSA density, number of biopsy cores positive, greatest extent of core positivity). We conducted comparisons within patients based on findings obtained through MRI-ultrasound fusion biopsy versus systematic biopsy only. Results: We identified 1,132 patients, including 1,014 (89.5%) and 118 (10.5%) who underwent first-time biopsy and surveillance biopsies. The median PSA was 7.15 (interquartile range: 5.2-10.8). Using data obtained through systematic biopsy alone, 123 (10.9%) and 242 (21.4%) were classified as very-low and low NCCN risk, respectively. Incorporating data from MRI-ultrasound fusion biopsy, 86 (7.6%) and 255 (22.5%) were classified as very-low and low NCCN risk, respectively. Among patients initially electing active surveillance as management, 7.4%, 60.2%, 26.9% met very-low, low, and favorable-intermediate risk criteria, respectively. Conclusions: A small proportion of patients undergoing MRI-ultrasound fusion biopsy will be classified as ‘very-low risk’ by the NCCN definition, and the majority of patients managed initially with active surveillance fall outside of this criteria. These findings imply a need to broaden support for active surveillance outside of “very-low risk” criteria to promote greater uptake.[Table: see text]
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Dzimitrowicz HE, Wilson LE, Jackson BE, Spees L, Baggett C, Greiner MA, Kaye D, Zhang T, George DJ, Scales CD, Pritchard J, Leapman MS, Gross CP, Dinan MA, Wheeler SB. Factors associated with the quality of end-of-life care for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. J Clin Oncol 2022. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2022.40.6_suppl.300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
300 Background: Although oral anti-cancer agents (OAAs) have improved outcomes for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), most patients still die from the disease. High quality end-of-life (EOL) care remains a crucial component of optimal care for patients with mRCC, but neither it nor systemic therapy use at EOL have been well characterized in these patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of decedents with mRCC in 2 cohorts analyzed in parallel: 1) patients aged ≥18 years (diagnosed with RCC in 2004 through 2015) drawn from the University of North Carolina Cancer Information Population Health Resource (NC-CIPHR) and 2) patients aged ≥66 years (diagnosed with RCC in 2007 through 2015) from SEER-Medicare. OAA use was measured from date of mRCC diagnosis until 30 days prior to death. We assessed use of hospice in the last 30 days of life as well as established measures of low EOL care quality: receipt of systemic therapy, hospital admission, and ICU admission in last 30 days of life, and death in hospital. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence limits (95%CL) for associations between OAA use, patient and provider characteristics, and EOL care quality in both cohorts. Results: We identified 410 (NC-CIPHR) and 1508 (SEER-Medicare) patients with median ages of 69 and 75 years, respectively. 53.4% and 43.5% of decedents received an OAA in NC-CIPHR and SEER-Medicare, respectively. OAA use was associated with increased systemic therapy in the last 30 days prior to death in both datasets, increased hospice in the last 30 days prior to death in SEER-Medicare, and increased death in hospital in NC-CIPHR. OAA use was not associated with inpatient or ICU admission near EOL in both cohorts. Older patients were less likely to receive chemotherapy, be admitted, or die in the hospital near EOL in both cohorts. Dual-enrolled beneficiaries (Medicare and Medicaid) had decreased likelihood of hospice use in 30 days prior to death (OR = 0.71; 95%CL: 0.54, 0.94) and increased death in hospital (OR = 1.40; 95%CL: 1.02, 1.93) in SEER-Medicare. Conclusions: Patients with mRCC who received OAAs were more likely to receive systemic therapy at the EOL, however, they were also more likely to receive hospice care at EOL in the SEER-Medicare cohort with no differences in hospitalization near EOL. Future directions include characterization of EOL care in the era of immunotherapy treatments. [Table: see text]
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Lisa Spees
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | | | | | | | - Tian Zhang
- Duke Cancer Institute Center for Prostate and Urologic Cancers, Duke University, Durham, NC
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Nie J, Demkowicz PC, Hsiang W, Umer W, Chen EM, McMahon G, Kenney PA, Breyer BN, Parikh R, Leapman MS. Reply by Authors. Urol Pract 2022; 9:24. [PMID: 37145588 DOI: 10.1097/upj.0000000000000269.02] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Patrick C Demkowicz
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Walter Hsiang
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Waez Umer
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Evan M Chen
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Gregory McMahon
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Patrick A Kenney
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Benjamin N Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Ravi Parikh
- Manhattan Retina and Eye Consultants, New York, New York
- Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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Nie J, Demkowicz PC, Hsiang W, Umer W, Chen EM, McMahon G, Kenney PA, Breyer BN, Parikh R, Leapman MS. Urology Practice Acquisitions by Private Equity Firms from 2011-2021. Urol Pract 2022; 9:17-24. [PMID: 37145557 DOI: 10.1097/upj.0000000000000269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Private equity firms have recently acquired several large urology practices in the United States. As little is known about these acquisitions, we sought to characterize trends in urology practice consolidation. METHODS We compiled urology practice acquisition data via financial databases, news outlets, practice websites, and Internet keyword search for the time period January 1, 2011 through March 15, 2021. For each acquisition, we determined the acquiring group, number of employed urologists, practice locations, and status of ancillary services (pathology, radiology, or surgery centers). We estimated workforce effects based on the 2019 American Urological Association workforce census. RESULTS We identified 69 independent practice acquisitions in the study period, including 19 (28.4%) by hospital systems, 7 (10.4%) by multispecialty physician groups, 23 (34.3%) by urology practices, and 20 (29.9%) by private equity-backed platforms. Private equity firms initially targeted large urology practices (mean of 60.8±32.6 urologists) with ownership of ancillary services and consolidated local market share through acquisitions of smaller practices (mean of 15.9±14.5 urologists). As of March 2021, we estimate that 7.2% of private practice urologists in the U.S. were employed by one of 5 private equity-backed platforms; over 25% of all urologists practicing in New Jersey and Maryland are employed by a private equity-backed platform. CONCLUSIONS Private equity acquisitions have accelerated to become a dominant form of urology practice consolidation in recent years and have achieved significant market influence in certain regions. Future research should assess the impact of private equity investment on practice patterns, health outcomes, and expenditures.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Nie
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Patrick C Demkowicz
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Walter Hsiang
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Waez Umer
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Evan M Chen
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Gregory McMahon
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Patrick A Kenney
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Benjamin N Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Ravi Parikh
- Manhattan Retina and Eye Consultants, New York, New York
- Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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Casilla-Lennon M, Hanchuk S, Zheng S, Kim DD, Press B, Nguyen JV, Grimshaw A, Leapman MS, Cavallo JA. Pregnancy in physicians: A scoping review. Am J Surg 2022; 223:36-46. [PMID: 34315575 PMCID: PMC8688196 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The personal health and professional impact of physician pregnancy requires further study. We performed a comprehensive scoping review of physician pregnancy to synthesize and assess the evidence to aid decision-making for relevant stakeholders. METHODS A search of 7 databases resulted in 3733 citations. 407 manuscripts were included and scored for evidence level. Data were extracted into themes using template analysis. RESULTS Physician pregnancy impacted colleagues through perceived increased workload and resulted in persistent stigmatization and discrimination despite work productivity and academic metrics being independent of pregnancy events. Maternity leave policies were inconsistent and largely unsatisfactory. Women physicians incurred occupational hazard risk and had high rates of childbearing delay, abortion, and fertility treatment; obstetric and fetal complication rates compared to controls are conflicting. CONCLUSIONS Comprehensive literature review found that physician pregnancy impacts colleagues, elicits negative perceptions of productivity, and is inadequately addressed by current parental leave policies. Data are poor and insufficient to definitively determine the impact of physician pregnancy on maternal and fetal health. Prospective risk-matched observational studies of physician pregnancy should be pursued.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stephanie Hanchuk
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Sijin Zheng
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - David D Kim
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Benjamin Press
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Justin V Nguyen
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Alyssa Grimshaw
- Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven and Newington, CT, USA.
| | - Jaime A Cavallo
- Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven and Newington, CT, USA.
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50
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Holler JT, Hakam N, Nabavizadeh B, Sadighian MJ, Shibley WP, Li KD, Weiser L, Rios N, Enriquez A, Leapman MS, Amend GM, Breyer BN. Characteristics of Online Crowdfunding Campaigns for Urological Cancers in the United States. Urol Pract 2022; 9:56-63. [PMID: 37145560 DOI: 10.1097/upj.0000000000000275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We examined the characteristics and financial outcomes of online crowdfunding campaigns for patients with major urological cancers in the U.S. METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzed publicly available data from GoFundMe, the largest online medical crowdfunding service, via automated web scraping. Online campaigns from 2010 to 2018 with the following primary cancer types were included: kidney, prostate, bladder and testicular. Financial outcomes were compared using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Multivariable analyses were utilized to identify predictors of campaign financial outcomes. RESULTS Kidney cancers were the most frequent online campaign type (478), followed by prostate (379), bladder (202) and testicular (175) malignancies. Urological cancer campaign recipients frequently requested funding for medical expenses (71%) during active treatment (57%). After adjustment, testicular cancer and children's cancer campaigns generated more donations than other urological and adult cancer campaigns (p <0.05). Family and friend-authored campaigns generated more donations and average donation amounts than self-authored campaigns (p <0.05). Campaign narratives focused on disheartening circumstances received fewer donations than narratives focused on the recipient's high moral character or contributions to society (p <0.05), and unclear narratives received the smallest donation amounts (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Urological cancer crowdfunding in the U.S. is primarily used to finance uncovered costs associated with medical care during active treatment. Crowdfunding financial outcomes are likely related to the campaign recipient's age, malignancy type, social network and primary appeal of the narrative. Urologists should be aware of trends in medical crowdfunding in order to better understand the financial burden this patient population faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan T Holler
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Nizar Hakam
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Behnam Nabavizadeh
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Michael J Sadighian
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - William P Shibley
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Kevin D Li
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Lucas Weiser
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Natalie Rios
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Anthony Enriquez
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Michael S Leapman
- Department of Urology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Gregory M Amend
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Benjamin N Breyer
- Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
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