Melanoma in skin biopsy with H&E stain — this case may represent superficial spreading melanoma. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0
One in five Medicare patients with melanoma experience delays in getting surgery, a Yale study found. The research was published April 8 in JAMA Dermatology.
Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is a leading cause of new cancer diagnoses in the United States. A delay between diagnosis and surgery to remove melanomas may cause patients psychological harm and affect health-care quality. Using the national Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result-Medicare database, the Yale team conducted the first population-based analysis of delay of surgery among Medicare patients with melanoma.
The researchers reviewed data on more than 32,000 Medicare patients diagnosed with melanoma. They found that 22% of patients waited longer than 1.5 months for melanoma surgery, and 8% were delayed more than 3 months. Although no gold standard exists, a timeframe of less than six weeks between diagnosis and surgery has been recommended.
"Delay for melanoma surgery in this population is more common than we expected," said Jason Lott, M.D., who was first author of the study as postdoctoral fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at Yale School of Medicine.
Delays were most common for patients who were treated by providers who were not dermatologists—such as primary care physicians or general surgeons. That particular finding may point to opportunities to increase coordination of care between providers who diagnose and treat melanoma patients, said the researchers.
The study revealed significant variation in the timing of melanoma surgery for Medicare patients after diagnosis. "We are working to identify reasons for delay in the time it takes for patients to get surgery," said Lott. "That information will help ensure that we are delivering more prompt and patient-centered surgical care."
Explore further: Dermatologist care tied to better self-detection of melanoma
More information: Study: JAMA Dermatology, http://ift.tt/1NTMJPE amadermatol.2015.119
Commentary: JAMA Dermatology. Published online April 8, 2015. DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.0559
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Melanoma in skin biopsy with H&E stain — this case may represent superficial spreading melanoma. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0
One in five Medicare patients with melanoma experience delays in getting surgery, a Yale study found. The research was published April 8 in JAMA Dermatology.
Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is a leading cause of new cancer diagnoses in the United States. A delay between diagnosis and surgery to remove melanomas may cause patients psychological harm and affect health-care quality. Using the national Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result-Medicare database, the Yale team conducted the first population-based analysis of delay of surgery among Medicare patients with melanoma.
The researchers reviewed data on more than 32,000 Medicare patients diagnosed with melanoma. They found that 22% of patients waited longer than 1.5 months for melanoma surgery, and 8% were delayed more than 3 months. Although no gold standard exists, a timeframe of less than six weeks between diagnosis and surgery has been recommended.
"Delay for melanoma surgery in this population is more common than we expected," said Jason Lott, M.D., who was first author of the study as postdoctoral fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at Yale School of Medicine.
Delays were most common for patients who were treated by providers who were not dermatologists—such as primary care physicians or general surgeons. That particular finding may point to opportunities to increase coordination of care between providers who diagnose and treat melanoma patients, said the researchers.
The study revealed significant variation in the timing of melanoma surgery for Medicare patients after diagnosis. "We are working to identify reasons for delay in the time it takes for patients to get surgery," said Lott. "That information will help ensure that we are delivering more prompt and patient-centered surgical care."
Explore further: Dermatologist care tied to better self-detection of melanoma
More information: Study: JAMA Dermatology, http://ift.tt/1NTMJPE amadermatol.2015.119
Commentary: JAMA Dermatology. Published online April 8, 2015. DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.0559
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Dermatologist care tied to better self-detection of melanoma
(HealthDay)—Patients with self-detected primary melanoma who have an established dermatologist are more likely to have thinner lesions at the time of diagnosis, according to research published in the May ...
Risk of second primary melanoma up in pediatric patients
(HealthDay) -- Pediatric patients diagnosed with an invasive cutaneous melanoma have nearly double the relative risk of developing a subsequent primary melanoma, compared with adults, according to a study ...
Physicians promote screening strategies for those at high-risk for melanoma
Melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, was to blame for approximately 9,700 deaths in 2014. And with the number of melanoma cases increasing each year, it is believed that the disease could become one of the most ...
Study shows racial and socioeconomic disparities in hip fracture care
A study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) finds that people in certain racial and socioeconomic groups are at a disadvantage when it comes to care they receive after fracturing a hip.
Men who have had testicular cancer are more likely to develop prostate cancer
A case-control study of close to 180,000 men suggests that the incidence of prostate cancer is higher among men with a history of testicular cancer (12.6 percent) than among those without a history of testicular cancer (2.8 ...
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Scientists are mapping the habits of cancer cells, turn by microscopic turn.
Graduate student diagnosed with brain tumor dives into the data
In 2007, Steven Keating had his brain scanned out of sheer curiosity.
Team discovers novel mechanism controlling lung cancer stem cell growth
Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer and the number one cause of cancer-related mortality. It is estimated that more than 158,000 people will die from lung cancer in the United States this ...
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