Introduction: Significant gains in advanced melanoma have been made through immunotherapy trials. Factors influencing equitable access and survival impact of these novel therapies are not well-defined.
Method: Retrospective analysis using National Cancer Database of patients with advanced stage III and IV melanoma from 2004 to 2021. Multivariable logistic regression was used to study the use of immunotherapy and Cox proportional hazard regression to evaluate overall survival (OS).
Results: 47,427 patients with increasing utilization of immunotherapy from 13.78% in 2004 to 65.88% by 2021. Inequitable adoption were impacted by age, sex, socioeconomic status/affordability, insurance types and residential educational/income level. Receiving immunotherapy was associated with a 44% improvement in OS (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.54-0.57) and receiving a clinical trial-based therapy was associated with a 37% improvement (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.53-0.75). Among patients who received immunotherapy or clinical trial-base therapy, there was 40% worse survival in non-Hispanic Black patients (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.16-1.69) compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
Conclusion: There are disparities in utilization of immunotherapy that is influenced by socioeconomic status. Race and ethnicity had a significant influence in differential impact on survival outcomes of immunotherapies highlighting the importance of increasing underrepresented population participation in trials that lead to novel therapies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1750743X.2025.2452836 | DOI Listing |
Immunotherapy
January 2025
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
Introduction: Significant gains in advanced melanoma have been made through immunotherapy trials. Factors influencing equitable access and survival impact of these novel therapies are not well-defined.
Method: Retrospective analysis using National Cancer Database of patients with advanced stage III and IV melanoma from 2004 to 2021.
Biotechnol Biofuels Bioprod
January 2025
Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
Background: The climate crisis and depleting fossil fuel reserves have led to a drive for 'green' alternatives to the way we manufacture chemicals, and the formation of a bioeconomy that reduces our reliance on petrochemical-based feedstocks. Advances in Synthetic biology have provided the opportunity to engineer micro-organisms to produce compounds from renewable feedstocks, which could play a role in replacing traditional, petrochemical based, manufacturing routes. However, there are few examples of bio-manufactured products achieving commercialisation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Med Inform Decis Mak
January 2025
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting mortality and guiding healthcare decisions. However, AI models may perpetuate or exacerbate existing health disparities due to demographic biases, particularly affecting racial and ethnic minorities. The objective of this study is to investigate the demographic biases in AI models predicting COVID-19 mortality and to assess the effectiveness of transfer learning in improving model fairness across diverse demographic groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Oral Health
January 2025
Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de los Andes, Chile, Las Condes, Chile.
Introduction: Certain aspects of indigenous communities, such as cultural practices and access to care, have been discussed as potential determinants of oral health. However, research on this topic remains limited. Understanding the factors influencing oral health and their perceptions is crucial for developing culturally appropriate interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
University of California, San Francisco Institute for Health & Aging, #123K, 490 Illinois Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
Background: Mobile Health Clinics (MHCs) are an alternate form of healthcare delivery that may ameliorate current rural-urban health disparities in chronic diseases and have downstream impacts on the health system by reducing costs. Evaluations of providers' time allocation on MHCs are scarce, hindering knowledge transfer related to MHC implementation strategies.
Methods: Retrospective economic cost was assessed using business ledgers and expert assessments in 2023 US Dollar (USD) from 2022 to 2023.
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