Table 3. Comparison of Patient Characteristics Between the Matched and Unmatched Subjects (N=248 vs. 355).
| Matched Subjects | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes 248 (41.1%) |
No 355 (58.9%) |
||
| Baseline socio-demographic variables | |||
| Age; mean (SD) | 59.4 (13.5) | 58.7 (12.8) | 0.54 |
| Male sex; N (%) | 117 (47.2) | 191(53.8) | 0.11 |
| Race/Ethnicity; N (%) | 0.10 | ||
| White, non-Hispanic | 169 (68.2) | 261 (73.5) | 0.15 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 41 (16.5) | 48 (13.5) | 0.31 |
| Hispanic | 36 (14.5) | 36 (10.1) | 0.10 |
| Asian | 1 (0.4) | 9 (2.5) | 0.05 |
| Marriage; N (%) | 100 (40.3) | 113 (32.8) | 0.06 |
| Education; mean (SD) | 12.3 (3.8) | 13.1 (4.1) | 0.01 |
| Health Insurance; N (%) | 146 (58.9) | 266 (76.4) | 0.0001 |
| Religion; N (%) | 0.04 | ||
| Catholic | 113 (45.6) | 146 (41.2) | 0.29 |
| Protestant | 37 (14.9) | 75 (21.2) | 0.05 |
| Jewish | 7 (2.8) | 12 (3.4) | 0.70 |
| Baptist | 38 (15.3) | 29 (8.2) | 0.006 |
| Other | 12 (4.8) | 20 (5.7) | 0.66 |
| None | 6 (8.0) | 1 (1.4) | 0.20 |
| Cancer Type; N (%) | 0.45 | ||
| Breast | 29 (11.7) | 35 (10.1) | 0.54 |
| Colorectal | 35 (14.2) | 33 (9.6) | 0.08 |
| Pancreatic | 21 (8.5) | 29 (8.4) | 0.97 |
| Other GI | 30 (12.2) | 44 (12.8) | 0.83 |
| Lung | 54 (21.9) | 90 (26.1) | 0.24 |
| Other c | 79 (31.9) | 124 (34.9) | 0.43 |
| Baseline Health Status; mean (SD) | |||
| Karnofsky score | 66.0 (16.1) | 68.3 (17.2) | 0.11 |
| Charlson index | 8.5 (2.7) | 7.9 (2.7) | 0.007 |
| McGill physical subscale a | 5.9 (2.8) | 6.2 (2.6) | 0.32 |
| McGill symptom subscale a | 10.4 (4.3) | 12.0 (4.4) | <0.0001 |
| Recruitment Site; N (%) | <0.0001 | ||
| Yale Cancer Center | 28 (11.3) | 125 (38.5) | 0.0001 |
| VACCC b | 12 (4.8) | 9 (2.8) | 0.20 |
| Parkland Hospital c | 110 (44.4) | 68 (20.9) | <.0001 |
| Simmons Center d | 20 (8.1) | 20 (6.2) | 0.37 |
| DFCI/MGH e | 20 (8.1) | 27 (8.3) | 0.92 |
| NHOH f | 56 (22.6) | 75 (23.1) | 0.89 |
| Illness Acknowledgement, N (%) | |||
| Wants to know life expectancy | 187 (75.4) | 239 (68.9) | 0.08 |
| Trust physician | 242 (98.8) | 349 (98.9) | 1.00 |
| Acknowledge yourself to be terminal ill | 94 (37.9) | 109 (31.7) | 0.12 |
| Treatment Preferences, N (%) | |||
| Values life extension over comfort | 36 (14.5) | 122 (34.4) | <.0001 |
| Prefers everything possible to extend life for a few days | 48 (19.4) | 74 (21.7) | 0.49 |
| Prefers chemotherapy to extend life | 143 (57.7) | 168 (49.1) | 0.04 |
| Prefers ventilator to extend life | 53 (21.4) | 89 (26.1) | 0.19 |
| Preference against death in ICU | 99 (39.9) | 122 (37.0) | 0.47 |
Note: Italicized rows represent continuous measures; mean and standard deviation (SD) shown.
a
McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire Items (scale 0-10) where 0 is desirable and 10 is undesirable.
b
VACCC=Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System Comprehensive Cancer Clinics.
c
Parkland Hospital=Parkland Hospital Palliative Care Service, Texas.
d
Simmons Center=Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Texas.
e
DFCI/MGH =Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.
f
NHOH=New Hampshire Oncology Hematology.