Work

Insurance status impacts overall survival in Burkitt lymphoma

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: The impact of insurance status on clinical outcomes in Burkitt (BL) and plasmablastic (PBL) lymphomas remains unknown. We used the National Cancer Database to examine insurance status' effect on overall survival (OS) in adults diagnosed with these lymphomas between 2004 and 2014. BL patients with private insurance had significantly better OS compared to those without. In patients aged <65 years, hazard ratios were 1.4 for uninsured status (95% confidence interval 1.2-1.7), 1.2 for Medicaid (95% CI 1.0-1.4), and 1.5 for Medicare (95% CI 1.2-1.9). For patients aged >65 years, hazard ratio for uninsured status was 8.4 (95% CI 2.5-28.3). Conversely, underinsured PBL patients experienced no difference in OS. Thus, expanding insurance-related access to care may improve survival in BL, for which curative therapy exists, but not PBL, where more effective therapies are needed. Our findings add to mounting evidence that adequate health insurance is particularly important for patients with curable cancers.

Source: Leukemia & lymphoma/Leukemia and lymphoma

DOI: 10.1080/10428194.2019.1623884

Authors: Jordan S. Goldstein, Jeffrey M. Switchenko, Madhusmita Behera, Christopher R. Flowers, Jean L. Koff

Institutions: Emory University, Winship Cancer Institute

Language: English

Topic: Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment

Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Cancer Institute, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences