Reports Outline Cancer Study Results from University of Miami (The Effect of Health Insurance on Pediatric Cancer Survival: An Analysis of Children Evaluated for Radiation Therapy in Diverse Multicenter Health Systems): Cancer

2023 AUG 16 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators publish new report on cancer. According to news reporting originating from the University of Miami by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Understanding the role of health insurance in cancer survival in a diverse population of pediatric radiation oncology patients could help to identify patients at risk of adverse outcomes. Data were collected from cancer patients evaluated for radiation therapy, age <19, diagnosed from January 1990 to August 2019.”

Our news reporters obtained a quote from the research from University of Miami: “Predictors of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by univariable and multivariable Cox regression. Variables included health insurance, diagnosis type, sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status deprivation index. The study included 459 patients with a median diagnosis age of 9 years. Demographic breakdown was 49.5% Hispanic, 27.2% non-Hispanic White, and 20.7% non-Hispanic Black. There were 203 recurrences and 86 deaths observed over a median follow-up of 2.4 years. Five-year RFS was 59.8% (95% CI, 51.6, 67.0) versus 36.5% (95% CI, 26.6, 46.6), and 5-year OS was 87.5% (95% CI, 80.9, 91.9) versus 71.0% (95% CI, 60.3, 79.3) in private pay insurance versus Medicaid/Medicare, respectively. Multivariable showed Medicaid/Medicare patients experienced a 54% higher risk of recurrence (hazard ratio: 1.54, 95% CI, 1.08, 2.20) and 79% higher risk of death (hazard ratio: 1.79, 95% CI, 1.02, 3.14) than privately insured patients.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Significant disadvantages in RFS and OS were identified in radiation oncology patients with Medicaid/Medicare insurance, even after adjusting for clinical and demographic variables.”

For more information on this research see: The Effect of Health Insurance on Pediatric Cancer Survival: An Analysis of Children Evaluated for Radiation Therapy in Diverse Multicenter Health Systems. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, 2023,45(6). The publisher for Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology is Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health).

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1097/mph.0000000000002678.

Our news journalists report that more information may be obtained by contacting Deukwoo Kwon, Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Additional authors for this research include Jessica R. Fine, Justine M. Ransdell, Paulo S. Pinheiro, Isildinha M. Reis, Julio C. Barredo, Derek M. Isrow.

ORCID is an identifier for authors and includes bibliographic information. The following is ORCID information for the author of this research: Justine M. Ransdell (http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8179-0846).

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