2020
Geographic Variations of Potentially Curative Treatments for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States: A SEER-Medicare Study.
Cheng E, Hung P, Wang SY. Geographic Variations of Potentially Curative Treatments for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States: A SEER-Medicare Study. Journal Of The National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2020, 18: 729-736. PMID: 32502978, DOI: 10.6004/jnccn.2020.7529.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHospital referral regionsCurative treatmentHepatocellular carcinomaIncidence of HCCCox proportional hazards modelSEER-Medicare studyPercutaneous ethanol injectionHepatitis B virusProportional hazards modelMore comorbiditiesSurgical resectionSurvival benefitTreatment patternsSEER-MedicareB virusRadiofrequency ablationEthanol injectionTreatment utilizationReferral regionsBetter survivalLower riskHazards modelPatientsSurvivalTreatment
2016
End-of-Life Care Intensity and Hospice Use
Wang SY, Aldridge MD, Gross CP, Canavan M, Cherlin E, Johnson-Hurzeler R, Bradley E. End-of-Life Care Intensity and Hospice Use. Medical Care 2016, 54: 672-678. PMID: 27111747, PMCID: PMC4907842, DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000547.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLife care intensityHospital referral regionsShort hospice enrollmentEmergency department useCare intensityHospice useHospice enrollmentDepartment useLife careIntensive care unit admissionOverall hospice useCare unit admissionProportion of decedentsMonths of lifeUnit admissionICU admissionICU daysPatient characteristicsIntensive careLowest quintileReferral regionsIntensive endShort stayAORNumber of daysTrends in end-of-life cancer care in the Medicare program
Wang SY, Hall J, Pollack CE, Adelson K, Bradley EH, Long JB, Gross CP. Trends in end-of-life cancer care in the Medicare program. Journal Of Geriatric Oncology 2016, 7: 116-125. PMID: 26783015, PMCID: PMC5577563, DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2015.11.007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLife cancer careDay of deathAggressive endLife careCancer careHospital deathHospice enrollmentEmergency departmentIntensive care unit admissionEnd Results-Medicare dataAggressiveness of endLate hospice enrollmentLife chemotherapy useCare unit admissionHospital referral regionsResult of cancerProportion of beneficiariesChemotherapy useICU admissionUnit admissionED visitsPatient demographicsTumor characteristicsReferral regionsMedicare beneficiaries
2015
The Role of Patient Factors, Cancer Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns in the Cost of Care for Medicare Beneficiaries with Breast Cancer
Xu X, Herrin J, Soulos PR, Saraf A, Roberts KB, Killelea BK, Wang SY, Long JB, Wang R, Ma X, Gross CP. The Role of Patient Factors, Cancer Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns in the Cost of Care for Medicare Beneficiaries with Breast Cancer. Health Services Research 2015, 51: 167-186. PMID: 26119176, PMCID: PMC4722219, DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.12328.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBreast cancer careHospital referral regionsCancer careMedicare expendituresBreast cancerRadiation therapyTreatment factorsMean Medicare expendituresEnd Results-MedicareSpecific treatment modalitiesContribution of patientCost of careHighest spending quintilePatient factorsTreatment patternsTumor characteristicsCancer characteristicsTreatment modalitiesReferral regionsMedicare beneficiariesQuintilePatientsCancerCareTherapy
2014
Understanding Regional Variation in Medicare Expenditures for Initial Episodes of Prostate Cancer Care
Wang SY, Wang R, Yu JB, Ma X, Xu X, Kim SP, Soulos PR, Saraf A, Gross CP. Understanding Regional Variation in Medicare Expenditures for Initial Episodes of Prostate Cancer Care. Medical Care 2014, 52: 680-687. PMID: 25023913, PMCID: PMC4129645, DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000158.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAncillary proceduresPatient characteristicsTreatment modalitiesTreatment intensityEnd Results-Medicare databaseProstate cancer careSpecific treatment modalitiesContribution of patientHospital referral regionsInitial treatmentCancer careInitial episodeNoncancer controlsProstate cancerQuintile 5Referral regionsSubstantial geographic variationCare costsMedicare expendituresCostly modalityTreatment factorsMean expenditureLowest expenditure quintileSurgeryModalities