Therapeutic Underuse and Delay in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Prevalence, Associated Factors, and Clinical Impact.

ABSTRACT: Prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) could be affected by lack of or delayed therapy. We aimed to characterize the prevalence, correlates, and clinical impact of therapeutic underuse and delay in patients with HCC. Patients with HCC diagnosed between 2010 and 2017 were analyzed from the United States National Cancer Database. Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with no and delayed (>90 days after diagnosis) HCC treatment. Cox proportional hazards regression with landmark analysis assessed the association between therapeutic delay and overall survival (OS), accounting for immortal time bias. Of 116,299 patients with HCC, 24.2% received no treatment and 18.4% of treated patients had delayed treatment. Older age, Black, Hispanic, lower socioeconomic status, earli

SUBMITTER: Govalan R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8710787 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature