Timeliness of treatment is an important metric for multiple myeloma treatment. This study, published in Anticancer Research, focuses on the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on initial treatment delay for patients with multiple myeloma.
The researchers relied on data from the National Cancer Database and included patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 2004 and 2016. The study period was split into pre-ACA and post-ACA, with the cutoff year being 2010. A total of 65,723 patients met the relevant criteria. The median time to initial treatment was 13 days.
Ultimately, it was found that treatment delay was more common among Hispanic patients pre-ACA but not post-ACA. Non-Hispanic Black patients, on the other hand, faced delayed initial treatment both before and after the ACA.
The researchers concluded that although the ACA has mitigated certain healthcare disparities, it has had a limited impact on the treatment delay experienced by Black Americans with multiple myeloma [1].
Source:
[1] Jayakrishnan, T., Bakalov, V., Callander, N. S., Sadashiv, S., Wagner, R., & Ailawadhi, S. (2020). Impact of the affordable care act on timeliness to treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. Anticancer Research, 40(10), 5727–5734. https://doi.org/10.21873/anticanres.14587
