Increase seen in receipt of guideline-concordant treatment for women newly diagnosed with HR-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
FRIDAY, Oct. 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Expanding Medicaid is associated with an increase in receipt of guideline-concordant treatment among nonelderly women newly diagnosed with hormone receptor (HR)-negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network<\/em>.<\/p>\n Kewei Sylvia Shi, M.P.H., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the association between Medicaid expansion and receipt of guideline-concordant treatment, time to treatment initiation, and survival among 31,401 women aged 18 to 62 years newly diagnosed with HR-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer. Outcome changes following Medicaid expansion were compared in expansion versus nonexpansion states in a difference-in-differences analytic approach.<\/p>\n The researchers observed an increase of 0.58 percentage points in receipt of guideline-concordant treatment overall in association with Medicaid expansion, as well as a 2.43-percentage point increase in initiating guideline-concordant treatment <60 days after diagnosis and a 1.17 percentage point increase in the two-year survival rate. Patients with stage III disease had the most prominent increase in two-year survival associated with Medicaid expansion (difference-in-differences, 3.81).<\/p>\n “Expanding insurance coverage to individuals with cancer can allow them to benefit from access to life-saving treatments,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n