Table 2.
Access to Care and Treatment Characteristics Among White and Black Veterans With Clinical Stage I NSCLC Undergoing Resection in the VHA
| Access to Care and Treatment Characteristics | White (n = 8,356) | Black (n = 1,486) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wait time to surgery, median (IQR), d | 64 (63) | 70 (74) | .090 |
| PET scan | 6,872 (82.2) | 1,234 (83.0) | .455 |
| EBUS | 899 (10.8) | 184 (12.4) | .065 |
| Mediastinoscopy | 640 (7.7) | 108 (7.3) | .600 |
| EBUS or mediastinoscopy | 1,599 (19.1) | 296 (19.9) | .480 |
| Oncology appointment | 2,174 (26.0) | 420 (28.3) | .069 |
| Tumor size, mean ± SD, mm | 23.30 ± 10.6 | 23.5 ± 10.9 | .460 |
| Resection | .189 | ||
| Lobectomy | 5,795 (69.4) | 1,069 (71.9) | |
| Wedge | 1,846 (22.1) | 299 (20.1) | |
| Segment | 523 (6.3) | 93 (6.3) | |
| Pneumonectomy | 135 (1.6) | 18 (1.2) | |
| Unknown | 57 (0.7) | 7 (0.5) | |
| Surgical approach | .480 | ||
| VATS | 3,188 (38.2) | 564 (38.0) | |
| Thoracotomy | 4,614 (55.2) | 851 (57.3) | |
| Unknown | 544 (6.5) | 71 (4.8) | |
| Grade | .208 | ||
| I | 1,008 (12.1) | 186 (12.5) | |
| II | 4,084 (48.9) | 688 (46.3) | |
| III | 2,516 (30.1) | 484 (32.6) | |
| IV | 113 (1.4) | 22 (1.5) | |
| Unknown | 635 (7.6) | 106 (7.1) | |
| Histology | < .001 | ||
| Adenocarcinoma | 4,309 (51.6) | 895 (60.2) | |
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 2,940 (35.2) | 396 (26.6) | |
| Other | 1,106 (13.2) | 193 (13.0) | |
| Unknown | 1 (0.0) | 2 (0.1) | |
| Lymph node sampling | |||
| Median (IQR) | 6 (2,12) | 6 (2,11) | .002 |
| ≥ 10 | 2,599 (33.3) | 425 (30.6) | .050 |
| Pathological STAGE | .468 | ||
| I | 7,004 (83.8) | 1,260 (84.8) | |
| II | 640 (7.7) | 113 (7.6) | |
| III | 310 (3.7) | 61 (4.1) | |
| IV | 33 (0.4) | 10 (0.7) | |
| Unknown | 369 (4.4) | 42 (2.8) |
Data are expressed as No. (%) unless otherwise indicated. EBUS = endobronchial ultrasound; IQR = interquartile range; NSCLC = non-small cell lung cancer; VATS = video-assisted thoracic surgery; VHA = Veterans Health Administration.