Recent decreases in chemotherapy use may be due, in part, to the economic downturn and an increase in Medicaid coverage, according to a study of 1,219 Non-hispanic white and black patients with stage III colon cancer. Researchers found:

•Patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy increased from the years 1990/1991 (white, 58%; black, 45%) to 2005 (white, 72%; black, 71%), and then decreased in 2010 (white, 66%; black, 57%).

•In each period, black patients were less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy.

•The type of insurance that black patients had—private, Medicare, or Medicaid—did not affect whether they received adjuvant chemotherapy, although a larger proportion had Medicaid, compared to white patients.

Citation: Murphy CC, Harlan LC, Warren JL, Geigner AM. Race and insurance differences in the receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy among patients with stage III colon cancer. [Published online ahead of print July 6, 2015. J Clin Oncol. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.61.3026.