New Brain Metastasis Research Has Been Reported by Researchers at University of Nebraska Medical Center (The association of health insurance with the survival of cancer patients with brain metastases at diagnosis): Brain Diseases and Conditions – Brain Metastasis

Health Policy and Law Daily

2021 DEC 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Current study results on brain metastasis have been published. According to news originating from Omaha, Nebraska, by NewsRx editors, the research stated, “Synchronous brain metastases (SBMs) are a presentation of stage IV cancers with limited treatment options. This study examines the association between health insurance status and overall survival (OS) of patients with SBMs using the National Cancer Database (NCBD).”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from University of Nebraska Medical Center: “We queried the NCDB for patients with SBMs from 2010 to 2015. Included cases were from seven primary cancers. Patients were grouped based on their insurance status. We assessed the association of insurance with OS using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age at diagnosis, sex, race, education level, income level, residential area, treatment facility type, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity status, year of diagnosis, primary tumor type, and receipt of chemotherapy, radiation therapy (RT), immunotherapy, and primary site surgery. Of 97,659 patients included, those who had Medicaid, Medicare, or without health insurance were less likely to receive brain RT, chemotherapy, and/or surgery of the primary cancer site compared to privately insured patients. In multivariable COX analysis, patients with Medicare (HR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.09-1.14, P < 0.001), Medicaid (HR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.09-1.13, P < 0.001), or no insurance (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.14-1.22, P < 0.001) were associated with decreased OS compared to private insurance.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “After retrospective analysis, Medicaid, Medicare, and no insurance were all associated with worse OS compared to private insurance. Future studies can focus on determining the factors associated with insurance status and factors contributing to improved OS stratified by insurance status.”

For more information on this research see: The association of health insurance with the survival of cancer patients with brain metastases at diagnosis. Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology, 2021,20():46-53. (Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology - https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technical-innovations-and-patient-support-in). The publisher for Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology is Elsevier.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tipsro.2021.11.004.

Our news editors report that more information may be obtained by contacting Alex Kolomaya, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 42nd and Emile St, Omaha, NE 68198, United States. Additional authors for this research include Saber Amin, Chi Lin.