TY - JOUR
T1 - Physician variation in management of low-risk prostate cancer
T2 - A population-based cohort study
AU - Hoffman, Karen E.
AU - Niu, Jiangong
AU - Shen, Yu
AU - Jiang, Jing
AU - Davis, John W.
AU - Kim, Jeri
AU - Kuban, Deborah A.
AU - Perkins, George H.
AU - Shah, Jay B.
AU - Smith, Grace L.
AU - Volk, Robert J.
AU - Buchholz, Thomas A.
AU - Giordano, Sharon H.
AU - Smith, Benjamin D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/9/1
Y1 - 2014/9/1
N2 - Importance Up-front treatment of older men with low-risk prostate cancer can cause morbidity without clear survival benefit; however,most such patients receive treatment instead of observation. The impact of physicians on the management approach is uncertain. Objective To determine the impact of physicians on the management of low-risk prostate cancer with up-front treatment vs observation. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective cohort of men 66 years and older with low-risk prostate cancer diagnosed from 2006 through 2009. Patient and tumor characteristics were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registries. The diagnosing urologist, consulting radiation oncologist, cancer-directed therapy, and comorbid medical conditions were determined from linked Medicare claims. Physician characteristics were obtained from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. Mixed-effects models were used to evaluate management variation and factors associated with observation. Main Outcomes and Measures No cancer-directed therapy within 12 months of diagnosis (observation). Results A total of 2145 urologists diagnosed low-risk prostate cancer in 12 068 men, of whom 80.1%received treatment and 19.9%were observed. The case-adjusted rate of observation varied widely across urologists, ranging from 4.5%to 64.2%of patients. The diagnosing urologist accounted for 16.1% of the variation in up-front treatment vs observation, whereas patient and tumor characteristics accounted for 7.9%of this variation. After adjustment for patient and tumor characteristics, urologists who treat non-low-risk prostate cancer (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.71 [95%CI, 0.55-0.92]; P = .01) and graduated in earlier decades (P = .004) were less likely to manage low-risk disease with observation. Treated patients were more likely to undergo prostatectomy (aOR, 1.71 [95%CI, 1.45-2.01]; P < .001), cryotherapy (aOR, 28.2 [95%CI, 19.5-40.9]; P < .001), brachytherapy (aOR, 3.41 [95%CI, 2.96-3.93]; P < .001), or external-beam radiotherapy (aOR, 1.31 [95%CI, 1.08-1.58]; P = .005) if their urologist billed for that treatment. Case-adjusted rates of observation also varied across consulting radiation oncologists, ranging from 2.2%to 46.8%of patients. Conclusions and Relevance Rates of management of low-risk prostate cancer with observation varied widely across urologists and radiation oncologists. Patients whose diagnosis was made by urologists who treated prostate cancer were more likely to receive up-front treatment and, when treated, more likely to receive a treatment that their urologist performed. Public reporting of physicians' cancer management profiles would enable informed selection of physicians to diagnose and manage prostate cancer.
AB - Importance Up-front treatment of older men with low-risk prostate cancer can cause morbidity without clear survival benefit; however,most such patients receive treatment instead of observation. The impact of physicians on the management approach is uncertain. Objective To determine the impact of physicians on the management of low-risk prostate cancer with up-front treatment vs observation. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective cohort of men 66 years and older with low-risk prostate cancer diagnosed from 2006 through 2009. Patient and tumor characteristics were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registries. The diagnosing urologist, consulting radiation oncologist, cancer-directed therapy, and comorbid medical conditions were determined from linked Medicare claims. Physician characteristics were obtained from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. Mixed-effects models were used to evaluate management variation and factors associated with observation. Main Outcomes and Measures No cancer-directed therapy within 12 months of diagnosis (observation). Results A total of 2145 urologists diagnosed low-risk prostate cancer in 12 068 men, of whom 80.1%received treatment and 19.9%were observed. The case-adjusted rate of observation varied widely across urologists, ranging from 4.5%to 64.2%of patients. The diagnosing urologist accounted for 16.1% of the variation in up-front treatment vs observation, whereas patient and tumor characteristics accounted for 7.9%of this variation. After adjustment for patient and tumor characteristics, urologists who treat non-low-risk prostate cancer (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.71 [95%CI, 0.55-0.92]; P = .01) and graduated in earlier decades (P = .004) were less likely to manage low-risk disease with observation. Treated patients were more likely to undergo prostatectomy (aOR, 1.71 [95%CI, 1.45-2.01]; P < .001), cryotherapy (aOR, 28.2 [95%CI, 19.5-40.9]; P < .001), brachytherapy (aOR, 3.41 [95%CI, 2.96-3.93]; P < .001), or external-beam radiotherapy (aOR, 1.31 [95%CI, 1.08-1.58]; P = .005) if their urologist billed for that treatment. Case-adjusted rates of observation also varied across consulting radiation oncologists, ranging from 2.2%to 46.8%of patients. Conclusions and Relevance Rates of management of low-risk prostate cancer with observation varied widely across urologists and radiation oncologists. Patients whose diagnosis was made by urologists who treated prostate cancer were more likely to receive up-front treatment and, when treated, more likely to receive a treatment that their urologist performed. Public reporting of physicians' cancer management profiles would enable informed selection of physicians to diagnose and manage prostate cancer.
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U2 - 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.3021
DO - 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.3021
M3 - Article
C2 - 25023650
AN - SCOPUS:84907015832
SN - 2168-6106
VL - 174
SP - 1450
EP - 1459
JO - JAMA Internal Medicine
JF - JAMA Internal Medicine
IS - 9
ER -