Lemini, Riccardo

Background and objectives: Area of residence may adversely affect survival and outcomes in many cancers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of geographical and demographic disparities on survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Materials and methods: Data were obtained from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) colon, rectosigmoid, and rectal datasets. Patients were categorized by area of residence, namely, metropolitan (MA), urban (UA), or rural (RA). Sociodemographic and tumor-related data were collected and analyzed to evaluate variables affecting overall survival (OS). Results: In total, 973,139 patients between 2004 and 2013 were included in the study, of which 83%, 15%, and 2% were MA, UA, and RA residents, respectively. RA and UA patients were mostly white male with low income and no comorbidities. In univariate analysis, OS was worse for RA (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10) and UA (HR 1.06) colorectal cancer patients than that for MA colorectal cancer patients. In multivariate analysis revealed significant association between OS and geographic residence, with worse OS for RA (HR 1.02, p = 0.04) and UA (HR 1.01, p = 0.003) patients. Black (HR 1.14) and Native American (HR 1.17) patients had worse outcomes, while Asians (HR 0.8), women (HR 0.88), and patients with higher income had improved OS (HR 0.88). Conclusion: The differences in the OS for RA and UA patients with colorectal cancer were significantly driven by economic disparity. Area of residence represents an important factor independently limiting access to care, particularly in geographically isolated individuals.

Abstract Background This study aimed to identify socioeconomic predictors of permanent stoma in rectal cancer treatment and examine its association with length of stay at the treatment facility.MethodsRectal cancer patients were identified from the Agency for Health Care Administration Florida Hospital Inpatient Discharge Dataset. Multivariate regression models were utilized to identify demographic, and socioeconomic factors associated with receiving a permanent stoma as well as the associated length of stay of these patients.ResultsOf 2,630 rectal cancer patients who underwent surgery for rectal cancer, 21% had a permanent stoma. The odds of receiving permanent stoma increased with higher Elixhauser score, metastatic disease, residing in Southwest Florida, and having Medicaid insurance or no insurance/self-payers (p<0.05). Patients with a permanent stoma had a significantly extended stay after surgery (p<0.001). ConclusionsPatients with a permanent stoma following cancer resection were more likely to have open surgery, had more comorbidities, and had a longer length of stay. Additionally, the payer type significantly affected the length of stay and odds of receiving a permanent stoma.

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with a global burden of 5.7% new cases each year and 8.2% of cancer-related deaths. Area of residence has been found to affect survival in different cancers but their impact on gastric cancer remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study is to address the potential disparities between the rural and urban populations affected specifically by gastric adenocarcinoma. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study, analyzing different socio-economic factors associated with populations affected by gastric adenocarcinoma between 2004 and 2013. Data was obtained from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate overall survival (OS). Different socio-demographic factors, location of residence were included, urban area (UA) or rural area (RA), gender, race, insurance status and marital status were included in the analyses. Results: A total of 88,246 [RA, N=12,365; UA, N=75,881] patients were included in the study. Majority of the study population was white (N = 67,792, 77%) and male (N = 59,574, 68%). Univariate and multivariable analysis showed that RA had the worst OS (univariate - HR=1.08, p&lt;0.001; multivariate HR=1.04; p&lt;0.001) compared to UA. When comparing different racial backgrounds, univariate and multivariable analysis showed Native American and African American population had poor OS when compared to the white population, however, Asian patients tend to have better OS (univariate HR=0.66, multivariable HR=0.68, p&lt;0.01). From quality of care standpoint, UA patients median days to undergo surgery (28 vs. 33; p&lt;0.01) post diagnosis was significantly sooner, with significantly fewer positive margins (6.3% vs. 6.9%; p&lt;0.01) when compared to RA patients. Though, there is no minimum number of lymph nodes examined during resection, but total of 15 or above is an accepted practice. When comparing the lymph node dissection, 19.6% UA patients underwent more than or equal to 15 lymph nodes dissection in comparison to 18.7% patients in RA (p=0.03). Discussion: This study identifies socio-demographic disparities in gastric adenocarcinoma. Access to healthcare, variations in patient care, environmental and lifestyle factors as well as genomic differences are all potential factors that affect the OS. This is consistent with the available literature in gastric cancer, including studies demonstrating survival differences in different populations undergoing surgical treatment in the United States. Based on the above data, it is imperative for future health policy initiatives to address these disparities in an effort to improve OS. Citation Format: Rohit Gosain, Navpreet Rana, Riccardo Lemini, Chong Wang, Sarbajit Mukherjee. Sociodemographic disparities in gastric adenocarcinoma: A population-based study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A054.

Background Recent studies have shown an increase in the incidence of gastric cancer (GC) among young adults in Asia and Latin America. However, it is unknown if a similar trend is happening in the United States (US). Methods A retrospective review of the National Cancer Data Base was conducted to identify patients diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma between the years of 2004 and 2013. Results A total of 93 734 patients were included. The 2 age groups below 40 did not see a change in GC incidence; however, age groups above 40 had increasing incidence. Patients aged 18-25 had the largest proportion of stage 4 disease and a poor survival (median 11.5 months), compared to older patients. Conclusion Despite the increasing trend of GC among individuals, the incidence of GC among young adults is not increasing. However, this subpopulation presents at more advanced stages (clinical stage 4) and thus has worse survival.

AbstractBackgroundRelatively few cutaneous head and neck melanoma (CHNM) patients with were included in the multicenter selective lymphadenectomy trial II (MSLT‐II). Our objective was to investigate whether immediate completion lymph node dissection completion of lymph node dissection (CLND) was associated with survival benefit for sentinel lymph node (SLN) positive CHNM using the National Cancer Database.MethodsSLN positive patients with CHNM from 2012 to 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent SLN biopsy (SLNB) only versus those who underwent SLNB followed by CLND (SLNB + CLND). The primary outcome was 5‐year overall survival (OS).ResultsAmong 530 SLNB + patients, 342 patients underwent SLNB followed by CLND (SLNB + CLND). The SLNB only group had fewer positive SLN, less advanced pathologic stage, and a lower rate of adjuvant immunotherapy. There was no significant difference in 5‐year OS between the two groups (51.0% vs 67%; P = .56). After adjusting for pathologic stage, there remained no difference in 5‐year OS among patients with stage IIIA (63.0% vs. 73.6%, P = 0.22) or IIIB/IIIC disease (39.1% vs 57.8%; P = .52).ConclusionsUsing a large nationwide database, CLND was not shown to be associated with improved OS for patients with SLNB positive CHNM, validating the results of MSLT‐II.

Background Recent studies have shown an increase in the incidence of gastric cancer (GC) among young adults in Asia and Latin America. However, it is unknown if a similar trend is happening in the United States. Methods A retrospective review of the National Cancer Database was conducted to identify patients diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma between the years of 2004 and 2013. Results A total of 93 734 patients were included. The two age groups below 40 did not see a change in GC incidence; however, age groups above 40 had increasing incidence. Patients aged 18 to 25 had the largest proportion of stage 4 disease and a poor survival (median 11.5 months), compared to older patients. Conclusion Despite the increasing trend of GC among individuals, the incidence of GC among young adults is not increasing. However, this subpopulation presents at more advanced stages (clinical stage 4) and thus has worse survival.

e19047 Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the US. Area of residence affects survival in many cancers, though largely unknown in colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate disparities between the metropolitan, urban and rural populations and the impact on survival in colorectal cancer. Methods: Data was obtained from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) colon, rectosigmoid, and rectal data sets. Patients (pts) were categorized by area of residence: metropolitan (MA), urban (UA), or rural (RA). Gender, race, insurance status, income, marital status, and tumor related data was collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate variables affecting overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 973,139 pts, spanning 2004-2013 were included in the study, 83% MA, 15% UA, 2% RA. RA and UA pts were more likely to be white than MA pts (92.7 v 91.4% v 83%). RA and UA were more likely to have lower income, with slightly lesser amounts of women and pts with no comorbidities. Uninsured rates were similar (3.3%). On univariate analysis, OS was worse for RA (HR 1.10) and UA (1.06) pts, as compared with MA. On multivariate analysis, small differences persisted with worse OS for RA (HR 1.02, p = .043) and UA (HR 1.01, p = .003). Black (HR 1.14) and native American (HR 1.17) pts had worse outcomes, while Asian (HR 0.8) pts had improved OS. Women (HR 0.88) and pts with higher incomes ( > 46K or 63K) had improved OS (HR 0.88). Conclusions: This study identifies socio-demographic disparities in colorectal cancer outcomes. Pts from rural and urban areas had worse OS, even though the proportion of minority pts with poor outcomes was lower. The difference in OS for RA and UA remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis, though it was largely corrected when adjusting for influencing variables. Part of this difference may be due to economic disparities, as lower income was linked to worse OS. This can independently limit access to care, especially for geographically isolated individuals. Additional research efforts are needed in order for us to better understand the key issues facing and the optimal means to improve outcomes in at risk populations.

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, accounting for 8.2% of cancer-related deaths. The purpose of this study was to investigate the geographic and sociodemographic disparities in gastric adenocarcinoma patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in gastric adenocarcinoma patients between 2004 and 2013. Data were obtained from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate overall survival (OS). Socio-demographic factors, including the location of residence [metro area (MA) or rural area (RA)], gender, race, insurance status, and marital status, were analyzed. Results: A total of 88,246 [RA, N = 12,365; MA, N = 75,881] patients were included. Univariate and multivariable analysis showed that RA had worse OS (univariate HR = 1.08, p < 0.01; multivariate HR = 1.04; p < 0.01) compared to MA. When comparing different racial backgrounds, Native American and African American populations had poorer OS when compared to the white population; however, Asian patients had a better OS (multivariable HR = 0.68, p < 0.01). From a quality of care standpoint, MA patients had fewer median days to surgery (28 vs. 33; p < 0.01) with fewer positive margins (6.3% vs. 6.9%; p < 0.01) when compared to RA patients. When comparing the extent of lymph node dissection, 19.6% of MA patients underwent an extensive dissection (more than or equal to 15 lymph nodes) in comparison to 18.7% patients in RA (p = 0.03). Discussion: This study identifies socio-demographic disparities in gastric adenocarcinoma. Future health policy initiatives should focus on equitable allocation of resources to improve the outcomes.

Lipoblastomas are rare benign mesenchymal tumors that arise from embryonal fat cells.They are usually discovered in infants and children under 3 years of age, and mostly occur in the trunk (from 10 to 60%, depending on the study) and extremities (from 40 to 45%), while head and neck localizations are rare, with only five cases described to date.We report on three cases of lipoblastomas in infants younger than 4 years, with unusual localizations: one intra-abdominal, discovered during a laparotomy for an intussusception; one pelvic, misdiagnosed as an ovarian mass; and one gluteal with a pelvic extension.All children underwent magnetic resonance imaging as preoperative workup. All tumors were completely resected with free surgical margins and ultrasonographic follow-up was uneventful for all patients.