"As practitioners, we need to be aware of these disparities and make sure all groups have the same access to care," David said. "That 27 percent number has room for improvement."
David noted that the study is only the tip of the iceberg, and more work needs to be done to parse out the findings and determine the best ways to help patients. Each patient is different, she said, and the California Cancer Registry data is not detailed enough to answer all the questions posed by this study.
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Because the research raises awareness about disparities in care, David said she hopes additional studies will lead to a more nuanced understanding of which treatments will benefit patients based on evidence rather than usual patterns of care that have been established.
"We're continuing to look at how the decision is made to involve surgery," David said. "Surgery is not right for all patients with advanced-stage lung cancer, but we want to ensure that patients are being evaluated appropriately. We want to see if we can create a decision tool that helps physicians decide who is suitable for surgery."
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Other authors include Robert J. Canter, Yingjia Chen, David T. Cooke and Rosemary D. Cress, all of UC Davis.
This study was funded by a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center Support Grant P30CA93373 and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health UL1 TR000002.
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated center serving the Central Valley and inland Northern California, a region of more than 6 million people. Its specialists provide compassionate, comprehensive care for more than 10,000 adults and children every year, and access to more than 150 clinical trials at any given time. Its innovative research program engages more than 280 scientists at UC Davis, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Jackson Laboratory (JAX West), whose scientific partnerships advance discovery of new tools to diagnose and treat cancer. Through the Cancer Care Network, UC Davis collaborates with a number of hospitals and clinical centers throughout the Central Valley and Northern California regions to offer the latest cancer care. Its community-based outreach and education programs address disparities in cancer outcomes across diverse populations. For more information, visit cancer.ucdavis.edu.
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