2017
Regional Medicare Expenditures and Survival Among Older Women With Localized Breast Cancer
Tannenbaum S, Soulos PR, Herrin J, Mougalian S, Long JB, Wang R, Ma X, Gross CP, Xu X. Regional Medicare Expenditures and Survival Among Older Women With Localized Breast Cancer. Medical Care 2017, 55: 1030-1038. PMID: 29068906, PMCID: PMC5863278, DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000822.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBreast cancer careHospital referral regionsNonmetastatic breast cancerBreast cancerCancer careMedicare beneficiariesMedicare expendituresCancer expendituresBetter survivalEnd Results-MedicareRetrospective cohort studyPatients 3 yearsClinical characteristicsCohort studyOverall survivalCancer stagePatient outcomesOutcome measuresReferral regionsOlder womenSignificant associationStage IIBivariate analysisCancerQuintile
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
2012
The impact of hypomethylating agents on the cost of care and survival of elderly patients with myelodysplastic syndromes
Wang R, Gross CP, Frick K, Xu X, Long J, Raza A, Galili N, Zikria J, Guan Y, Ma X. The impact of hypomethylating agents on the cost of care and survival of elderly patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Leukemia Research 2012, 36: 1370-1375. PMID: 22917770, PMCID: PMC3458648, DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2012.07.020.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCost of careMyelodysplastic syndromeMDS patientsMedicare expendituresComparative cost-effectiveness studyCohort of patientsTwo-year survivalNon-cancer controlsCost-effectiveness studiesElderly patientsPrevalent cancerEconomic burdenPatientsMajor subtypesSurvivalCareSyndromeUnited StatesHMAsSurvival probabilityEarly periodCohortAgentsCancerSubtypes