Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Dec 2013
An epidemiologic and genomic investigation into the obesity paradox in renal cell carcinoma.
Obesity increases risk for clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), yet obese patients appear to experience longer survival than nonobese patients. We examined body mass index (BMI) in relation to stage, grade, and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) while considering detection bias, nutritional status, and molecular tumor features. ⋯ Our findings suggest that although BMI is not an independent prognostic factor for CSM after controlling for stage and grade, tumors developing in an obesogenic environment may be more indolent.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Dec 2013
Addressing the American health-care cost crisis: role of the oncology community.
Health-care cost growth is unsustainable, and the current level of spending is harming our economy and our patients. This commentary describes the scope of the health-care spending problem and the particular factors in cancer care that contribute to the problem, reflecting in part presentations and discussions from an Institute of Medicine National Cancer Policy Forum Workshop held in October 2012. Presenters at the workshop identified a number of steps that the oncology community can take to reduce the rate of growth in cancer-care costs while maintaining or improving upon the quality of care. This commentary aims to highlight opportunities for the oncology community to take a leadership role in delivering affordable, high-quality cancer care.