A B S T R A C T PurposeRecent studies have reported increased mortality for right-sided colon cancers but had limited adjustment for patient characteristics and conflicting results by stage. We examined the relationship between colon cancer location (right-v left-side) and 5-year mortality by stage. Patients and MethodsWe identified Medicare beneficiaries from 1992 to 2005 with American Joint Commission on Cancer stages I to III primary adenocarcinoma of the colon who underwent surgery for curative intent through Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) -Medicare data. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for predictors of all-cause 5-year mortality were obtained by using Cox proportional hazards regression. ResultsOf 53,801 patients, 67% had right-sided colon cancer. Patients with right-sided cancer were more likely to be older, to be women, to be diagnosed with a more advanced stage, and to have more poorly differentiated tumors. Adjusted Cox regression showed no significant difference in mortality between right-and left-sided cancers for all stages combined (HR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.04; P ϭ .598) or for stage I cancers (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.03; P ϭ .211). Stage II right-sided cancers had lower mortality than left-sided cancers (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.87 to 0.97; P ϭ .001), and stage III right-sided cancers had higher mortality (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.18; P Ͻ .001). ConclusionWhen analysis was adjusted for multiple patient, disease, comorbidity, and treatment variables, no overall difference in 5-year mortality was seen between right-and left-sided colon cancers. However, within stage II disease, right-sided cancers had lower mortality; within stage III, right-sided cancers had higher mortality.

Purpose Adjuvant chemotherapy is typically considered for patients with stage II colon cancer characterized by poor prognostic features, including obstruction, perforation, emergent admission, T4 stage, resection of fewer than 12 lymph nodes, and poor histology. Despite frequent use, the survival advantage conferred on patients with stage II disease by chemotherapy is yet unproven. We sought to determine the overall survival benefit of chemotherapy among patients with stage II colon cancer having poor prognostic features. Patients and Methods A total of 43,032 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent colectomy for stage II and III primary colon adenocarcinoma diagnosed from 1992 to 2005 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) –Medicare database. χ2 and two-way analysis of variance were used to assess differences in patient- and disease-related characteristics. Five-year overall survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression with propensity score weighting. Results Of the 24,847 patients with stage II cancer, 75% had one or more poor prognostic features. Adjuvant chemotherapy was received by 20% of patients with stage II disease and 57% of patients with stage III disease. After adjustment, 5-year survival benefit from chemotherapy was observed only for patients with stage III disease (hazard ratio[HR], 0.64; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.67). No survival benefit was observed for patients with stage II cancer with no poor prognostic features (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.84 to 1.25) or stage II cancer with any poor prognostic features (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.13). Conclusion Among Medicare patients identified with stage II colon cancer, either with or without poor prognostic features, adjuvant chemotherapy did not substantially improve overall survival. This lack of benefit must be considered in treatment decisions for similar older adults with colon cancer.

Objectives-Early hospital readmission is a common and costly problem in the Medicare population. In 2009, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services began mandating hospital reporting of disease-specific readmission rates. We sought to determine the rate and predictors of readmission after colectomy for cancer, as well as the association between readmission and mortality.Methods-Medicare beneficiaries who underwent colectomy for stage I-III colon adenocarcinoma from 1992-2002 were identified from the SEER-Medicare database. Multivariate logistic regression identified predictors of early readmission and one-year mortality. Odds ratios were adjusted for multiple factors, including measures of comorbidity, socioeconomic status, and disease severity.Results-Of 42,348 patients who were discharged, 4,662 (11.0%) were readmitted within 30 days. The most common causes of rehospitalization were ileus/obstruction and infection. Significant predictors of readmission included male gender, comorbidity, emergent admission, prolonged hospital stay, blood transfusion, ostomy, and discharge to nursing home. Readmission was inversely associated with hospital procedure volume, but not surgeon volume. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, the predicted probability of one-year mortality was 16% for readmitted patients, compared to 7% for those not readmitted. This difference in mortality was significant for all stages of cancer.Conclusions-Early readmission after colectomy for cancer is common and due in part to modifiable factors. There is a remarkable association between readmission and one-year mortality. Early readmission is therefore an important quality-of-care indicator for colon cancer surgery. These findings may facilitate the development of targeted interventions that will decrease readmissions and improve patient outcomes.

Classifying patients as "active" or "passive" with regard to healthcare decision making is misleading, since patients have different desires for different components of the decision making process. Distinguishing patients' desired roles is an essential step towards promoting care that respects and responds to individual patients' preferences. We included items on the 2004 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study mail survey measuring preferences for four components of the decision making process: physician knowledge of patient medical history, physician disclosure of treatment choices, discussion of treatment choices, and selection of treatment choice. We characterized preference types for 5,199 older adults using cluster analysis. Ninety-six percent of respondents are represented by four preference types, all of which prefer maximal information exchange with physicians. Fifty-seven percent of respondents wanted to retain personal control over important medical decisions ("autonomists"). Among the autonomists, 81% preferred to discuss treatment choices with their physician. Thirty-nine percent of respondents wanted their physician to make important medical decisions ("delegators"). Among the delegators, 41% preferred to discuss treatment choices. Female gender, higher educational attainment, better self-rated health, fewer prescription medications, and having a shorter duration at a usual place of care predicted a significantly higher probability of the most active involvement in discussing and selecting treatment choices. The overwhelming majority of older adults want to be given treatment options and have their physician know everything about their medical history; however, there are substantial differences in how they want to be involved in discussing and selecting treatments.

Choosing among the efficient policies to guide current screening recommendations requires consideration of costs to promote participation in screening and measurement of acute quality-of-life effects of mammography.