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· Lung Cancer
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Age, race, insurance also influence timing between diagnosis and therapy, study finds
Jump to full article: HealthDay [HealthScout], 2009-11-02
Intro: The length of time a patient has to wait between lung cancer diagnosis and treatment is influenced by a number of health-care system factors, a new U.S. study finds.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center analyzed data on 482 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer.
They found that factors such as type of hospital (private or public), insurance coverage, age and race have a major impact on the time it takes for a patient diagnosed with lung cancer to receive treatment.
For example, 59 percent of patients treated at a public hospital had advanced (stage 3) lung cancer, compared with 37 percent of patients treated at a private hospital. The researchers also found significant differences in patient populations at public and private hospitals in terms of age, race and socioeconomic status. . . .
The study appears in the November issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.
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