Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
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Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. · Dec 2016
The Impact of Preexisting Mental Health Disorders on the Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival among Lung Cancer Patients in the U.S. Military Health System.
Higher cancer-related mortality has been observed among people with mental health disorders than in the general population. Both delay in diagnosis and inadequate treatment due to health care access have been found to explain the higher mortality. The U.S. Military Health System (MHS), in which all beneficiaries have equal access to health care, provides an ideal system to study this disparity where there are no or minimal barriers to health care access. This study assessed preexisting mental health disorders and stage at diagnosis, receipt of cancer treatment, and overall survival among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the U.S. MHS. ⋯ This study contributes to the current understanding that health care access may not be sufficient to explain the poor survival among patients with NSCLC with preexisting mental health disorders. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(12); 1564-71. ©2016 AACR.