Journal article
Medical Immunosuppression and Outcomes in Cutaneous Melanoma: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Jessica Bogach, Frances C Wright, Janice Austin, Stephanie Y Cheng, Christina Diong, Rinku Sutradhar, Nancy N Baxter, Nicole J Look Hong
ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY | SPRINGER | Published : 2020
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Melanoma and the immune system are intimately related. However, the association of immunosuppressive medications (ISMs) with survival in melanoma is not well understood. The study evaluated this at a population level. METHODS: A cohort of patients with a diagnosis of invasive cutaneous melanoma (2007-2015) was identified from the Ontario Cancer Registry and linked to identify demographics, stage at diagnosis, prescription of immunosuppressive medications (both before and after diagnosis), and outcomes. The demographics of patients with and without prescriptions for ISM were compared. Patients eligible for Ontario's Drug Benefit Plan were included to ensure accurate prescription d..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the ICES, which is funded by an annual grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). The opinions, results, and conclusions reported in this paper are those of the authors and are independent from the funding sources. No endorsement by ICES or the Ontario MOHLTC is intended or should be inferred. Parts of this material are based on data and information compiled and provided by CIHI. Parts of this material are based on data and information provided by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). The opinions, results, view, and conclusions reported in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of CCO or CIHI. The authors thank IMS Brogan Inc. for use of their Drug Information Database. The authors also acknowledge Service Ontario for use of the ORG-D data. This study was funded by internal philanthropic funding (Doug and Adrianne Mahaffy).