(Press-News.org) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – People in minority groups, especially black Americans, are more willing than their white counterparts to exhaust their personal financial resources to prolong life after being diagnosed with lung or colorectal cancer, according to a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published April 26, 2011, online in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society.
This revelation should inform the treatment plans and help physicians design state-of-the-art cancer care that reflects patient wishes, says lead author Michelle Martin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine and a scientist with the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"As new cancer-treatment options emerge, patients are asked to make complex decisions that often involve tradeoffs between quality and quantity of life," Martin says. "A key tenet of delivering high-quality, patient-centered care is understanding and respecting patients' treatment decisions. Our results highlight the fact that personal finances can influence the decisions patients make about their treatment."
Martin and her colleagues compared the willingness of 4,214 participants in the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) study — a multi-center observational study of patients with newly diagnosed lung or colorectal cancer — to use their personal financial resources to extend their lives.
Among other questions, patients were asked, "If you had to make a choice now, would you prefer treatment that extends life as much as possible, even if it means using all of your financial resources, or would you want treatment that costs you less, even if it means not living as long?"
The researchers found that 80 percent of blacks were willing to spend all of their personal finances to extend life, while 54 percent of whites, 69 percent of Hispanics and 72 percent of Asians were willing to do so.
After accounting for a number of factors, including income, disease stage, quality of life, age, perceived time left to live and other medical illnesses, blacks were 2.4 times more likely to expend all personal financial resources to extend life than whites. Hispanic patients were 1.45 times more likely and Asian patients were 1.59 times more likely to expend all personal financial resources than white patients.
The availability of insurance had no statistical effect on the results, by race.
Several other factors were independently associated with a decreased willingness to exhaust finances to extend life, Martin said, especially age, family size and social support.
Single, divorced or separated people were more willing to spend all their financial resources than people who were married or living with a partner. People who did not know their life expectancy or who believed their life expectancy was in God's hands were more willing to spend than whose life expectancy was considered five years or less.
Martin says the study did not provide concrete reasoning for the differences, but its findings do create a basis for future studies.
"The next step is to obtain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence treatment preferences," she says. "Future work could broaden the factors that we examine, and time spent with cancer patients in conversation about their experience and treatment preferences will help us better deliver cancer care that reflects those."
###
Martin's co-authors on the study Maria Pisu, Ph.D., Robert A Oster, Ph.D., and Mona Fouad, M.D., M.P.H., of UAB; Julie G. Urmie, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa; Deborah Schrag, M.D., and Haiden A. Huskamp, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School; Jeannette Lee, Ph.D., of the University of Arkansas; and Catarina I. Kiefe, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
About the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is among the 40 cancer centers in the nation to meet the stringent criteria for the National Cancer Institute's comprehensive designation. The center is a leader in groundbreaking research, reducing cancer disparities and leading-edge patient care.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a separate, independent institution from the University of Alabama, which is located in Tuscaloosa. Please use University of Alabama at Birmingham on first reference and UAB on all consecutive references.
Blacks more willing to exhaust financial resources for more cancer care
2011-04-26
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
CSHL structural biologists reveal molecular architecture of key NMDA receptor subunit
2011-04-26
Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with colleagues at Emory University have determined the molecular structure of a key portion, or subunit, of a receptor type commonly expressed in brain cells. The receptor is one of several NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor variants, and the subunit in question is that which specifically binds with excitatory neurotransmitters, most notably glutamate, the brain's most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter.
The discovery is important because knowledge of the receptor ...
Providers Seek Improved Efficiencies and Better Patient Care Through Adaptable Interventional Labs
2011-04-26
Over the last two years KLAS has seen an increase in the interventional lab market performance scores for GE, Siemens, and Toshiba --narrowing the gap with each other and with install base leader, Philips. According to a new KLAS report, "Interventional Labs 2011: Meeting Changing Needs," the four ranked vendors (GE, Philips, Siemens, and Toshiba--listed alphabetically) cluster within five points of each other.
As performance scores tighten, market-changing development from vendors has slowed. Additionally, provider innovation and the move toward multiuse ...
Gynecologic cancer expert helps pinpoint best treatment for fast-growing gestational tumors
2011-04-26
DALLAS – April 26, 2011 – A clinical trial has sifted out the most effective single-drug chemotherapy regimen for quick-growing but highly curable cancers that arise from the placentas of pregnant women.
In the comparison trial for treating low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), researchers found that a biweekly dose of dactinomycin had a higher complete response rate than a weekly dose of methotrexate, the more commonly used drug. GTN is a group of rare tumors that involve abnormal growth of cells inside a woman's uterus.
"Both chemotherapy drugs are effective ...
Antibiotic may prove beneficial to preterm infant lung health
2011-04-26
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2011) – A study performed by University of Kentucky researchers shows promise for the use of azithromycin in treating Ureaplasma-colonized or infected premature infants to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
The study, published in Pediatric Pulmonology, showed subjects colonized or infected with the Ureaplasma bacteria developed BPD or died 73 percent of the time in the azithromycin-treated group, compared to 94 percent of the time in the placebo group.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a chronic lung disorder characterized by inflammation ...
Archie's Island Furniture Says a Big "Happy Summer" With Fun New Products
2011-04-26
Archie's Island Furniture, manufacturer of premium painted outdoor furniture, announces the addition of new products to jumpstart summer, in response to the lengthy and brutal New England winter.
The new outdoor furniture, expanding Archie's outdoor dining and casual entertaining product lines, offers fun configurations and great color choices for both large and small gatherings. New to the collection this year are an intimately scaled 38" round dining table seating four, porch swings in several lengths and designs, and a coffee table, (42"L, 18"W, 18"H), ...
Novel ash analysis validates volcano no-fly zones
2011-04-26
Planes were grounded all over Europe when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland last year. But no one knew if the no fly zone was really necessary. And the only way to find out would have been to fly a plane through the ash cloud - a potentially fatal experiment.
Now a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland have developed a protocol for rapidly providing air traffic authorities with the data they need for deciding whether or not to ground planes next time ash threatens airspace safety.
A study by the teams of Professors ...
Protein inhibitor may bring a topical treatment for HPV
2011-04-26
BOSTON (April 26, 2011) —Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death for women, and is a common cause of anogenital and some head and neck cancers. Thanks to research being done at Tufts University School of Medicine, patients infected with cancer-causing HPV may someday have an alternative to surgical and harsh chemical treatments. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online in advance of print in The FASEB Journal, the researchers report on the development of a protein-based inhibitor ...
Water molecules characterize the structure of DNA genetic material
2011-04-26
Water molecules surround the genetic material DNA in a very specific way. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have discovered that, on the one hand, the texture of this hydration shell depends on the water content and, on the other hand, actually influences the structure of the genetic substance itself. These findings are not only important in understanding the biological function of DNA; they could also be used for the construction of new DNA-based materials.
The DNA's double helix never occurs in isolation; instead, its entire surface is ...
Study examines folic acid absorption rates from softgel capsule and standard tablet
2011-04-26
NORTHRIDGE, CA (April 26, 2011) — Folic acid, an essential vitamin formulated to be part of a multivitamin + DHA liquid softgel capsule, is absorbed and available within the body in amounts similar to folic acid formulated for solid tablets, according to a study presented in a late breaking session at the Experimental Biology (EB) 2011 annual meeting. Different formulations, fillers and coatings of vitamin products may affect the degree or rate at which the product dissolves and releases its contents, which can alter the vitamin's absorption into the body and its bioavailability, ...
Motor protein may offer promise in ovarian cancer treatment
2011-04-26
A motor regulatory protein can block human ovarian tumor growth, leading to eventual cancer cell death and possible new therapies to treat the disease, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.
Among U.S. women, an estimated 21,880 new cases and 13,850 deaths occurred in 2010 from epithelial ovarian cancer, one of the most common forms of ovarian cancer and the most lethal gynecologic cancer in women.
Previously, Kathleen M. Mulder, Ph.D., professor, biochemistry and molecular biology, along with members of her laboratory, learned that km23-1 -- a protein ...