With Ovarian Cancer, Better Outcome Tied to Guideline Adherence - MPR

With Ovarian Cancer, Better Outcome Tied to Guideline Adherence - MPR

"Robert E. Bristow, MD, from University of California Irvine Medical Center, and colleagues identified 13,321 consecutive patients from the California Cancer Registry diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (Jan. 1, 1999–Dec. 31, 2006) undergoing a minimum surgical procedure of oophorectomy. Stage-appropriate surgical procedures and recommended chemotherapy was the definition of adherence to NCCN guideline care.
The researchers found that, overall, 37.2% of patients received NCCN guideline-adherent care. Nearly 19% of cases were seen at high-volume hospitals (≥20 cases/year) and 16.4% of surgeries were performed by high-volume surgeons (≥10 cases/year).
Guideline-adherent care was significantly more likely at high-volume hospitals (50.8%) compared to low-volume hospitals (34.1%). Guideline-adherent care was also significantly more likely among high-volume surgeons (47.6%) compared to low-volume surgeons (34.5%). On multivariate survival analysis, controlling for patient, disease-related, and health care system factors, nonadherence to NCCN guideline care was independently associated with inferior overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26–1.42). Both low-volume hospitals (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01–1.16) and low-volume surgeons (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.09–1.28) were independently associated with worse overall survival after adjusting for NCCN guideline adherence."