Increases in supply-side factors significantly increase CT/MRI utilization, and supply-side factors impact CT/MRI utilization more than demand-side factors. The results show that the utilization instant report policy effectively decreases repeated uses of CT/MRI.

Purpose To investigate end-of-life care for Medicaid, Medicare, and dually eligible beneficiaries dying of cancer in Texas. Methods We analyzed the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR)-Medicaid and TCR-Medicare linked databases’ claims data for 69,572 patients dying of cancer in Texas from 2000–2008. We conducted regression models in adjusted analyses of cancer-directed and acute care and total costs of care (in 2014 dollars) in the last 30 days of life. Results Medicaid patients were more likely to receive chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Medicaid patients were more likely to have >1 emergency room (ER) (OR=5.27, 95% CI: 4.76–5.84), and were less likely to enroll in hospice (OR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.55–0.63) than Medicare patients. Dual eligibles were more likely to have >1 ER visit than Medicare-only beneficiaries (OR=1.19, 95% CI: 1.07–1.33). Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to experience > 1 ER visit and >1 hospitalization than whites. Costs were higher for non-white Medicare , Medicaid, and dually eligible patients compared to white Medicare enrollees. Conclusion Variation in acute care utilization and costs by race and payer suggest efforts are needed to address palliative care coordination at the end of life for Medicaid and dually eligible beneficiaries and minority patients dying of cancer.

Several of the targeted agents were significantly associated with increased risk of specific cardiovascular toxicities, CHF, DLVEF, and HTN. Several had significant increased risk for high-grade cardiovascular toxicities (CHF, DLVEF, and HTN). Patients receiving such therapy should be closely monitored for these toxicities and early and aggressive treatment should occur. However, clinical experience has demonstrated that some of these toxicities may be reversible and due to secondary effects.

Background As treatment modalities for medulloblastoma have developed and overall survival (OS) has improved, there are relatively limited data on the impact of long‐term effects such as risk of second primary tumors (SPT). To address the knowledge gap, we analyzed factors associated with the risk of SPT and OS by treatment modality for medulloblastoma. Methods We queried the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)‐18 database for patients diagnosed with medulloblastoma in 1973‐2014. Patients were then grouped by age, gender, race, geographic region, histology, adjuvant treatment (no radiation [RT] and no chemotherapy [CT], RT and CT, RT alone, or CT alone), era of diagnosis (1973‐1994 or 1995‐2014), and survival time. Cumulative incidence, factors associated with SPT and OS were analyzed. Results Of 2271 patients, 146 developed SPT, of which 42 were benign. The incidence of SPT was 3.1% and 4.9% at 10 and 15 years, respectively. The incidence of SPT was 3.1% with RT + CT versus 3.7% with RT alone at 10 years. The most common site for an SPT was the central nervous system. Female gender (P = 0.01) and longer OS of ≥21 years (P < 0.01) were associated with higher risk of SPT. RT + CT led to better OS than RT only (66.1% and 61.4% vs 55.6% and 49.7% at 10 and 15 years) (P < 0.01). Conclusions Medulloblastoma patients have a relatively low risk of SPT at 10 years with treatment. Use of RT + CT led to better OS with no statistical difference in SPT compared with the RT alone.

PURPOSE: The rapidly rising costs of targeted oral anticancer medicines (TOAMs) raise concerns over their affordability. Our goal was to examine recent trends in the uptake of TOAMs among cancer patients with Medicare Part D, the share of TOAM users who reached catastrophic coverage, and the annual spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase. METHODS: Using the 5% SEER-Medicare, we included patients age 65 years and older who had one primary cancer diagnosis between 2011 and 2016. We included person-years where patients were enrolled in a Part D plan for the entire year, did not receive the low-income subsidy at any time of the year, and received anticancer systemic therapies. We estimated the trends in the share of patients who used TOAMs, the percentage of TOAM users reaching catastrophic coverage, and the total and patient out-of-pocket spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase in a year. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2016, the uptake of TOAMs among our study population increased from 3.6% to 8.9%. The percentage of non–low-income subsidy TOAM users who reached catastrophic coverage increased from 54.6% to 60.3%. Among those who reached the catastrophic phase, mean total gross spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase increased from $16,074 (USD) to $64,233 (USD) and mean patient out-of-pocket spending from $596 (USD) to $2,549 (USD). The mean 30-day total spending increased from $4,011 (USD) to $8,857 (USD), and the mean 30-day out-of-pocket spending from $154 (USD) to $328 (USD). CONCLUSION: The high and growing burden from TOAMs highlighted the need for reining in drug prices and capping out-of-pocket spending.