Geographic and ethnic differences in childhood leukaemia and lymphoma survival: comparisons of Philippine residents, Asian Americans and Caucasians in the United States

10.1038/sj.bjc.6605703British Journal of Cancer1031149-154BJCA

Cancer survival discrepancies in developed and developing countries: comparisons between the Philippines and the United States

Despite the availability of population-based cancer survival data from the developed and developing countries, comparisons remain very few. Such comparisons are important to assess the magnitude of survival discrepancies and to disentangle the impact of ethnic background and health care access on cancer survival. Using the SEER 13 database and databases from the Manila and Rizal Cancer Registries in the Philippines, a 5-year relative survival for 9 common cancers in 1998–2002 of Filipino-American cancer patients were compared with both cancer patients from the Philippines, having the same ethnicity, and Caucasians in the United States, being exposed to a similar societal environment and the same health care system. Survival estimates were much higher for the Filipino-Americans than the Philippine resident population, with particularly large differences (more than 20–30% units) for cancers with good prognosis if diagnosed and treated early (colorectal, breast and cervix), or those with expensive treatment regimens (leukaemias). Filipino-Americans and Caucasians showed very similar survival for all cancer sites except stomach cancer (30.7 vs 23.2%) and leukaemias (37.8 vs 48.4%). The very large differences in the survival estimates of Filipino-Americans and the Philippine resident population highlight the importance of the access to and utilisation of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities in developing countries. Survival differences in stomach cancer and leukaemia between Filipino-Americans and Caucasians in the United States most likely reflect biological factors rather than the differences in access to health care

Development and application of simulation modelling for orthopaedic elective resource planning in England

Objectives This study aimed to develop a simulation model to support orthopaedic elective capacity planning. Methods An open-source, generalisable discrete-event simulation was developed, including a web-based application. The model used anonymised patient records between 2016 and 2019 of elective orthopaedic procedures from a National Health Service (NHS) Trust in England. In this paper, it is used to investigate scenarios including resourcing (beds and theatres) and productivity (lengths of stay, delayed discharges and theatre activity) to support planning for meeting new NHS targets aimed at reducing elective orthopaedic surgical backlogs in a proposed ring-fenced orthopaedic surgical facility. The simulation is interactive and intended for use by health service planners and clinicians. Results A higher number of beds (65–70) than the proposed number (40 beds) will be required if lengths of stay and delayed discharge rates remain unchanged. Reducing lengths of stay in line with national benchmarks reduces bed utilisation to an estimated 60%, allowing for additional theatre activity such as weekend working. Further, reducing the proportion of patients with a delayed discharge by 75% reduces bed utilisation to below 40%, even with weekend working. A range of other scenarios can also be investigated directly by NHS planners using the interactive web app. Conclusions The simulation model is intended to support capacity planning of orthopaedic elective services by identifying a balance of capacity across theatres and beds and predicting the impact of productivity measures on capacity requirements. It is applicable beyond the study site and can be adapted for other specialties

Identification of risk factors associated with prolonged hospital stay following primary knee replacement surgery: a retrospective, longitudinal observational study

Objectives To identify risk factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay and staying in hospital longer than medically necessary following primary knee replacement surgery. Design Retrospective, longitudinal observational study. Setting Elective knee replacement surgeries between 2016 and 2019 were identified using routinely collected data from an NHS Trust in England. Participants There were 2295 knee replacement patients with complete data included in analysis. The mean age was 68 (SD 11) and 60% were female. Outcome measures We assessed a binary length of stay outcome (>7 days), a continuous length of stay outcome (≤30 days) and a binary measure of whether patients remained in hospital when they were medically fit for discharge. Results The mean length of stay was 5.0 days (SD 3.9), 15.4% of patients were in hospital for >7 days and 7.1% remained in hospital when they were medically fit for discharge. Longer length of stay was associated with older age (b=0.08, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.09), female sex (b=0.36, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.67), high deprivation (b=0.98, 95% CI 0.47 to 1.48) and more comorbidities (b=2.48, 95% CI 0.15 to 4.81). Remaining in hospital beyond being medically fit for discharge was associated with older age (OR=1.07, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.09), female sex (OR=1.71, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.47) and high deprivation (OR=2.27, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.06). Conclusions The regression models could be used to identify which patients are likely to occupy hospital beds for longer. This could be helpful in scheduling operations to aid hospital efficiency by planning these patients’ operations for when the hospital is less busy

Is increased time to diagnosis and treatment in symptomatic cancer associated with poorer outcomes?:Systematic review

background: It is unclear whether more timely cancer diagnosis brings favourable outcomes, with much of the previous evidence, in some cancers, being equivocal. We set out to determine whether there is an association between time to diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes, across all cancers for symptomatic presentations. methods: Systematic review of the literature and narrative synthesis. results: We included 177 articles reporting 209 studies. These studies varied in study design, the time intervals assessed and the outcomes reported. Study quality was variable, with a small number of higher-quality studies. Heterogeneity precluded definitive findings. The cancers with more reports of an association between shorter times to diagnosis and more favourable outcomes were breast, colorectal, head and neck, testicular and melanoma. conclusions: This is the first review encompassing many cancer types, and we have demonstrated those cancers in which more evidence of an association between shorter times to diagnosis and more favourable outcomes exists, and where it is lacking. We believe that it is reasonable to assume that efforts to expedite the diagnosis of symptomatic cancer are likely to have benefits for patients in terms of improved survival, earlier-stage diagnosis and improved quality of life, although these benefits vary between cancers