Association Between Primary Care Use Prior to Cancer Diagnosis and Subsequent Cancer Mortality in the Veterans Affairs Health System.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Primary care physicians (PCPs) are significant contributors of early cancer detection, yet few studies have investigated whether consistent primary care translates to improved downstream outcomes.

Objective

To evaluate the association of prediagnostic primary care use with metastatic disease at diagnosis and cancer-specific mortality (CSM).

Design, setting, and participants

This cohort study used databases with primary care and referral linkage from multiple Veterans' Affairs centers from 2004 to 2017 and had a 68-month median follow-up. Analysis was completed between July 2021 and September 2022. Participants included veterans older than 39 years who had been diagnosed with 1 of 12 cancers. Inclusion criteria included known clinical staging, survival follo

SUBMITTER: Qiao EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9664263 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature