Abstract
Objectives Adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for ovarian cancer treatment improves patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess disparities associated with ovarian cancer treatment in the state of Kentucky and central Appalachia. Methods Data on patients diagnosed as having ovarian cancer from 2007 through 2011 were extracted from administrative claims-linked Kentucky Cancer Registry data. NCCN compliance was defined by stage, grade, surgical procedure, and chemotherapy. Selection criteria were reviewed carefully to ensure data quality and accuracy. Descriptive analysis, logistic regression, and Cox regression analyses were performed to examine factors associated with guidelines compliance and survival. Results Most women were aged 65 years or older (62.5%) and had high-grade (65.9%) and advanced-stage (61.0%) ovarian cancer. Two-thirds of cases (65.9%) received NCCN-recommended treatment for ovarian cancer. The hazard ratio of death for women who did not receive NCCN-compliant care was 62% higher compared with the women who did receive NCCN-compliant treatment. Results from the logistic regression showed that NCCN-compliant treatment was more likely for women aged 65 to 74 years compared with women aged 20 to 49 years, late-stage compared with early-stage cancers, receipt of care at tertiary care hospitals, and privately insured compared with Medicaid or Medicare. Conclusions When the treatment of ovarian cancer did not follow NCCN recommendations, patients had a significantly higher risk of death. Women were less likely to receive NCCN-compliant care if they were younger (20-49 years), had early-stage disease, did not have private insurance, or had care provided at a nontertiary care hospital.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 333-341 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Southern Medical Journal |
Volume | 111 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Biostatistics and Bioin-formatics Shared Resource Facility, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Markey Cancer Center, the Departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Correspondence to Dr Robert M. Ore, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40536. E-mail: robertore76@msn.com. To purchase a single copy of this article, visit sma.org/smj-home. To purchase larger reprint quantities, please contact Reprintsolutions@wolterskluwer.com. B.H. has received compensation from National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grant no. P30 CA177558. The remaining authors did not report any financial relationships or conflicts of interest. Accepted January 9, 2018. Copyright © 2018 by The Southern Medical Association 0038-4348/0–2000/111-333 DOI: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000821
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by The Southern Medical Association.
Keywords
- Kentucky
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines
- adherence
- disparities
- ovarian cancer
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (all)