Cancer patient overall mortality risk is 23% lower if they are receiving care at an National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center compared to cancer centers without the designation, according to a study published Nov. 20 in the American Cancer Society's interdisciplinary journal, Cancer.
For the study, researchers from University of California Irvine, Bethesda, Md.-based National Cancer Institute, South Salem, N.Y.-based non-profit Global Focus on Cancer, Australia and Cyprus reviewed 36 studies, predominantly from the U.S. between January 2002 and May 2024, for patient-relevant outcomes including mortality, survival, care quality, recurrence and quality of life.
Here are four takeaways from their findings:
- Studies consistently reported superior mortality and survival outcomes, care quality, rates of cancer recurrence or progression, symptoms and quality of life from NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers compared to non-designated centers.
- Non-designated centers had more favorable outcomes in studies that focused on health equity and cost.
- Results were mixed for three outcomes: time to care, palliative and end-of-life care, and health care utilization.
- "Rather than aiming for superior outcomes, comprehensive cancer centers should be striving to enable equitable, high value, patient-centered outcomes for all people affected by cancer," the authors of the study wrote.