Access to primary care and mortality in excess for patients with cancer in France: Results from 21 French Cancer Registries.

BACKGROUND: The impact of geographical accessibility on cancer survival has been investigated in few studies, with most research focusing on access to reference care centers, using overall mortality and limited to specific cancer sites. This study aims to examine the association of access to primary care with mortality in excess of patients with the 10 most frequent cancers in France, while controlling for socioeconomic deprivation. METHODS: This study included a total of 151,984 cases diagnosed with the 10 most common cancer sites in 21 French cancer registries between 2013 and 2015. Access to primary care was estimated using two indexes: the Accessibilité Potentielle Localisée index (access to general practitioners) and the Scale index (access to a range of primary care clinicians). Mortality in excess was modelized using an additive framework based on expected mortality based on lifetables and observed mortality. FINDINGS: Patients living in areas with less access to primary care had a greater mortality in excess for some very common cancer sites like breast (women), lung (men), liver (men and women), and colorectal cancer (men), representing 46% of patients diagnosed in our sample. The maximum effect was found for breast cancer; the excess hazard ratio was estimated to be 1.69 (95% CI, 1.20-2.38) 1 year after diagnosis and 2.26 (95% CI, 1.07-4.80) 5 years after diagnosis. INTERPRETATION: This study revealed that this differential access to primary care was associated with mortality in excess for patients with cancer and should become a priority for health policymakers to reduce these inequalities in health care accessibility.

Recherche sur la fin de vie, la nécessité d'un consensus : premiers résultats.

During the past 15 years, in France, like in many European countries, the attention paid to patients at the end of their lives has continued to grow. But in the meantime, only a few researchers have managed to collect reliable data on End-of-Life Care and to implement scientific studies describing the reality of these situations. This difficulty is due in particular to the lack of a recognized and operational definition of the end of life.Our objective is to explore the possibility of achieving consensus around a definition based on the isolated elements in the literature.A Delphi consensus approach has been conducted. A “Delphi” approach allows consensus to be achieved without the influence of leadership effects.The population of this study is the group of care providers who are members of the Société Française d’Accompagnement et de Soins Palliatifs (SFAP), whether they are professionals or volunteers. An electronic survey asked for the degree of approval of individuals for each of the proposed definitions on a Lickert scale. The first round of Delphi was proposed at the end of 2019 among palliative care actors. 1463 people responded to this questionnaire in one month. Two types of definition seem to dominate the other proposals. The first is related to an estimate of life expectancy: life expectancy of less than 15 days and less than one month. The second emerging definition is related to the evolution of a pathology: based on the fact of being in advanced or terminal phase of an incurable pathology.These results confirm that the end-of-life period can be seen from two points of view, the first in relation to the time left to live and the other in relation of the terminal phase of the disease which calls for a less clearly defined time.These two definitions are based on different approaches, one temporal and the other disease-centered. An alternative definition emerges from this study and will be tested in the second round of Delphi.

[Epidemiology of breast cancer]. / Épidémiologie du cancer du sein.

Epidemiology of breast cancer. Breast cancer in women accounts for 33% of women's cancers in France. The average age at diagnosis is 63 years old. Except for women aged 55 to 65, an increase in incidence is observed from 2010 to 2018 for women younger than 40 who are not involved in breast cancer screening, as well as for women of other age groups. Age remains an important risk factor for breast cancer. The incidence rates are highest for women aged 70 to 74 (420/100 000) with also the highest increase in incidence from 1990 to 2018 (+ 1.9% per year on average). At the same time, mortality has decreased in this age group (-0.8% per year on average). However, the 5-year net survival rate is significantly lower (76%) for women over 75 than for the youngest.

Épidémiologie du cancer du sein. Le cancer du sein de la femme représente 33 % des cancers féminins en France. L'âge moyen au diagnostic est de 63 ans. Excepté pour les femmes de 55 à 65 ans, une augmentation d'incidence est observée de 2010 à 2018 aussi bien pour les femmes jeunes, avant 40 ans, non concernées par le dépistage du cancer du sein que pour les femmes des autres classes d'âge. L'âge reste un facteur de risque important du cancer du sein. Les taux d'incidence sont les plus élevés pour les femmes de 70 à 74 ans (420/100 000), et c'est dans cette classe d'âge que l'augmentation de l'incidence entre 1990 et 2018 a été la plus forte (+1,9 % par an en moyenne). Parallèlement, la mortalité a diminué dans cette tranche d'âge (-0,8 % par an en moyenne). Cependant, le taux de survie nette à 5 ans est nettement plus faible (76 %) chez les femmes de plus de 75 ans que chez les plus jeunes.

An explorative study to assess the association between health-related quality of life and the recommended phase II dose in a phase I trial: idarubicin-loaded beads for chemoembolisation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the recommended phase 2 dose in a phase I clinical trial according to the Time to HRQoL deterioration approach (TTD). SETTING: This is a phase I dose-escalation trial of transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) with idarubicin-loaded beads performed in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients had to complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 HRQoL questionnaire at baseline and at days 15, 30 and 60 after TACE. PARTICIPANTS: Patients aged ≥18 years with HCC unsuitable for curative treatments were evaluated for the study (N=21). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of idarubicin loaded after a single TACE session. MTD was defined as the dose level closest to that causing dose-limiting toxicity in 20% of patients. HRQoL was the secondary end point. RESULTS: Between March 2010 and March 2011, 9, 6 and 6 patients were included at idarubicin dose levels of 5, 10 and 15 mg, respectively. Calculated MTD of idarubicin was 10 mg. At the 10 mg idarubicin dose, patients presented a longer TTD than at 5 mg, for global health status (HR=0.91 (95% CI 0.18 to 4.72)), physical functioning (HR=0.38 (0.04 to 3.22)), fatigue (HR=0.67 (0.18 to 2.56)) and pain (HR=0.47 (0.05 to 4.24)). CONCLUSIONS: These HRQoL results were consistent with the estimated MTD, with a median TTD for global health status of 41 days (21 to NA) at 5 mg, 23 days (20 to NA) at 10 mg and 25 days (17 to NA) at 15 mg. These results show the importance of studying HRQoL in phase I trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01040559; Post-results.