The study’s results were presented at the Eighth American Association for Cancer Research Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Undeserved.
Researchers queried two population-based registries, compiled by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, for data on all patients who were diagnosed with stage I or II NSCLC in 38 states and the District of Columbia between 2007 and 2011.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Among all the states studied, researchers found that Massachusetts, New Jersey and Utah had the highest rates of curative surgery at around 74 percent for each. They chose to use Massachusetts as the basis for comparing rates in other states.
2. The states that fared the most poorly by comparison were Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.
3. Patients with early-stage NSCLC were 25 percent less likely than those in Massachusetts to receive curative surgery, while those in Texas were 16 percent less likely.
4. Researchers also found that non-Hispanic blacks were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to receive curative surgery in all of the states studied. These disparities ranged from 6 percent less likely in California to 26 percent less likely in Wyoming
5. Researchers believe geography, particularly to locations of large treatment centers, and insurance coverage could also play a role.
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