Adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer: do physicians agree about the importance of patient age and comorbidity?
OBJECTIVE
We surveyed cancer physicians to understand how patients' age and comorbidity influence adjuvant chemotherapy recommendations and whether physician or practice characteristics also affect these recommendations.


METHODS
National survey of surgeons and medical oncologists caring for patients with colorectal cancer regarding whether they would recommend adjuvant chemotherapy for hypothetical patients with stage III colon cancer who varied by age (55 v 80 years) and comorbid illness (none, moderate, severe congestive heart failure [CHF]). Repeated measures logistic regression was used to assess the influence of patient, physician, and practice characteristics on chemotherapy recommendations.


RESULTS
Of 1,096 physicians, nearly all recommended chemotherapy for patients who were 55 years old with no comorbidity (99.0%), 55-years old with moderate CHF (88.6%), or 80 years old with no comorbidity (92.6%); many fewer recommended chemotherapy for 55-year-old patients with severe CHF (24.9%) or 80-year-old patients with moderate (47.2%) or severe (9.0%) CHF (P < .001). Younger physicians (P < .001) were more likely than others to recommend adjuvant chemotherapy overall, although physician factors explained little of the variability in recommendations.


CONCLUSIONS
Physicians agree with guidelines recommending adjuvant chemotherapy for young, healthy patients with stage III colon cancer but differ widely on recommendations for patients who are older and sicker. Few physician or practice characteristics were associated with recommendations. For older and sicker patients, the individual physicians seen may have a substantial impact on the likelihood of receiving chemotherapy. Understanding better the sources of variation not explained by patients' clinical characteristics may allow improved tailoring of therapy to patients most likely to benefit.
Keating
Nancy L
NL
Division of General Internal Medicine and the Department of Surgery and Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, USA. keating@hcp.med.harvard.edu
Landrum
Mary Beth
MB
Klabunde
Carrie N
CN
Fletcher
Robert H
RH
Rogers
Selwyn O
SO
Doucette
William R
WR
Tisnado
Diana
D
Clauser
Steven
S
Kahn
Katherine L
KL
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents