Racial and socioeconomic factors in cancer survival. A comparison of veterans administration results with selected studies

Page, William F.; Kuntz, Amy J.

doi:10.1002/1097-0142(19800301)45:5<1029::aid-cncr2820450533>3.0.co;2-3

Cited by 81 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…18,19 The current results also are consistent with findings from two other studies that included only VA patients. 25,26 No survival differences were found between black patients and white patients for several malignancies, including lung carcinoma. 25,26 The speculation was that the equal access to health care within the VA may have eliminated the racial differences in survival.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…25,26 No survival differences were found between black patients and white patients for several malignancies, including lung carcinoma. 25,26 The speculation was that the equal access to health care within the VA may have eliminated the racial differences in survival. However, it is also possible that, within the VA system, there may be no significant differences in socioeconomic status between blacks and whites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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A population‐based study of lung carcinoma in Pennsylvania

Campling

Hwang

Zhang

et al. 2005

Cancer

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BACKGROUNDLung carcinoma remains the major cause of cancer death in North America and is even more common among military veterans. The objective of this study was to determine whether there were differences in the characteristics and survival of Pennsylvania patients with lung carcinoma in the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital system compared with patients in the rest of the state.METHODSThe Pennsylvania Cancer Registry was used to identify all patients who were diagnosed with lung carcinoma in the State of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 1999. Patients who were treated within the Veterans Administration Health Care Network were identified by hospital code. Survival from the date of diagnosis of lung carcinoma was determined by using the Pennsylvania state mortality files from 1995 to 2001.RESULTSFrom 1995 to 1999, 48,994 patients were newly diagnosed with lung carcinoma in Pennsylvania (41.2% women), including 856 patients in the VA system (6 women). The current analysis was restricted to male patients (n = 28,798 men). There was no major difference in age of VA patients compared with non‐VA patients, and the proportions of patients who had localized or regional stage disease were similar (49% of VA patients vs. 48% of non‐VA patients). The proportion of black patients was much higher in the VA population (23%) compared with the non‐VA population (9%). The median survival was 6.3 months for VA patients compared with 7.9 months for patients in the rest of the state, and the 5‐year overall survival rate was 12% for VA patients compared with 15% for patients in the rest of the state. When survival was analyzed according to race, there was a significant difference in the age‐adjusted survival of white patients in the VA system compared with patients in the rest of the state (P = 0.0007), but no significant difference was observed among black patients (P = 0.92).CONCLUSIONSThe overall survival of VA patients with lung carcinoma in Pennsylvania was inferior to that of patients in the remainder of the state and this was due primarily to differences in survival among the white patients. Further investigation will be necessary to determine whether this disparity was caused by differences in socioeconomic status or comorbidities or whether there are systematic differences in the diagnosis, staging, or treatment of lung carcinoma between VA patients and civilian patients. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

A population‐based study of lung carcinoma in Pennsylvania

Campling

Hwang

Zhang

et al. 2005

Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In yet another study, social class explained some of the racial differences, but not all of them (Wegner et al, 1982). The confusion is not made any clearer by the fact that in some studies race has even been used as a surrogate for social class (Page & Kuntz, 1980). However, the role of the demographic factors in relation to social class cannot be assessed solely on the basis of correlation between the variables.…”

Section: Artifactual Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Opposite results have also been obtained. Page and Kuntz (1980) studied survival among Veterans Administration male cancer patients, and found no differences in survival by race or income except in bladder cancer. They concluded that the lack of differences was due to the fact that all the patients they studied received the same treatment with no distinctions, whereas most American hospitals placed their patients into categories on the basis of ability to pay.…”

Section: Specific Explanatory Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In childhood leukaemia, no social class differences in treatment modality were detected by McWhirter et al (1983). Keirn and Metter (1985) found that there were no differences in survival by economic status among lung, breast and colorectal cancer patients treated in a hospital that accepted patients regardless of race or ability to pay noted that the lack of a significant racial difference in the Veterans Administration study (Page & Kuntz, 1980) low. Therefore the study population may have been too homogeneous with respect to socioeconomic status.…”

Section: Specific Explanatory Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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