1. The Effect of Social Vulnerability on Initial Stage and Treatment for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
- Author
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Stuart CM, Dyas AR, Bronsert MR, Velopulos CG, Randhawa SK, David EA, Mitchell JD, and Meguid RA
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Female, Social Vulnerability, Databases, Factual, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung epidemiology, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung therapy, Lung Neoplasms epidemiology, Lung Neoplasms therapy
- Abstract
Objective: The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is a composite metric for social determinants of health. The objective of this study was to determine if SVI influences stage at presentation for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and subsequent therapies., Materials and Methods: NSCLC patients from our local contribution to the National Cancer Database (2011-2021) were grouped into low SVI (<75 %ile) and high SVI (>75 %ile) cohorts. Demographics, cancer-related variables, and treatment modalities were compared. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to control for the impact of demographics on cancer presentation and for the impact of oncologic variables on treatment outcomes., Results: Of 1,662 NSCLC patients, 435 (26 %) were defined as high SVI. Compared to the 1,227 (74 %) low SVI patients, highly vulnerable patients were more likely to be male (53.3 % vs 46.0 %, p = 0.009), non-White (17.2 % vs 9.7 %, p < 0.0001), have comorbidities (29.4 % vs 23.1 %, p = 0.009) and present at a higher AJCC clinical T, M and overall stage (all p < 0.05). These findings persisted on multivariable analysis, with highly vulnerable patients having 1.5x the odds (95 %CI: 1.23-1.86, p < 0.001) of presenting at more advanced stage. Patients with high SVI were less likely to be recommended for and receive surgery (40.9 % vs 53.2 %, p < 0.001), and this finding persisted after controlling for stage at presentation (OR 1.37, 95 %CI 1.04-1.80)., Conclusions: Highly vulnerable patients present at a more advanced clinical stage and are less likely to be recommended and receive surgery, even after controlling for stage at presentation. Further investigation into these findings is warranted to achieve more equitable oncologic care., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Christina M Stuart reports that this work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, under Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award T32CA17468., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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