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Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas (CERCIT) is a statewide resource for outcomes and comparative effectiveness research funded by The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), RP160674

Welcome to Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas (CERCIT)

The goal of CERCIT is to find evidence that will help patients and their physicians make individualized decisions about the best cancer care options, including screening, treatment, and end of life care in cancer. CERCIT is a multidisciplinary consortium of investigators at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), UT Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas (UTSW), and the Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Cancer Registry.

CERCIT News

As part of $142 million in new grants, the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas, (CPRIT) announced on August 18, 2021 an award of $2,936,731 to Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and Director of the UTMB Office of Biostatistics. The award supports the establishment of a state-wide resource, The Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC) for Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas, at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Since 2010, the Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC) of the Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas (CERCIT) has worked closely with Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) to link multiple large databases, including Medicare and Medicaid, for research use. This new funding will continue the DMAC via the CPRIT-Core Facility Support Award. The DMAC will link TCR databases with nationally representative surveys, to enhance patient-centered outcomes research and the interpretation and applicability of our findings to the Texas population. It will also train new comparative effectiveness research (CER) investigators across Texas academic and research institutions with a large number of underrepresented researchers. Read more at the Sealy Center on Aging website. 


 
Goodwin-CER-PCOR-11282018 A Geriatric Medicine Conference lecture on Comparative Effectiveness Research (and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research) was presented by James S. Goodwin, MD, George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics on November 28, 2018 at UTMB. Dr Goodwin is the PI of the CERCIT and other aging related grants at UTMB. 
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A special lecture sponsored by Center for Recovery, Physical Activity, and Nutrition (CeRPAN) with the Department of Nutrition & Metabolism as part of the UTMB School of Health Professions 50th Anniversary lecture series on July 25, 2018. Exercise Guidance After a Cancer Diagnosis: Evidence and Logistics was presented by Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology, Penn State College of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences; Associate Director of Population Sciences, Penn State Cancer Institute.
slide title graphic A Pepper Center Investigator's Lecture on Sixteen Suggestions to Improve Skills in Scientific Writing was presented by James S. Goodwin, MD, George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics on May 2, 2018 at UTMB.
Texas_topographic

The size and diversity of Texas present substantial challenges to the delivery of cancer care throughout the state. The CERCIT Knowledge Translation Core produced the following report and online resources that map population, economic and health care characteristics of diverse geographic areas in Texas that are relevant to the delivery of cancer care.

Read More: Demographic Variations in Texas
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A multi-institutional group, led by James S. Goodwin, MD, has been awarded a second five years of funding for "Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas" (CERCIT). The $6 million grant is from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. The CERCIT renewal will build on our analyses of administrative data but expand our methods to better measure individual patient characteristics and include information on patient preferences and patient reported outcomes. Our goal is to generate evidence that will help patients and their physicians make individualized decisions about the best cancer care options for each patient. These choices include screening, treatment and end of life care in cancer.
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HOUSTON – (July 25, 2016) – Regions in Texas differ widely in adherence to recommended cancer treatment for elderly patients, according to a study by researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

These differences are not due to the availability of treatment specialists or the presence of teaching hospitals, the study found. The absence of consistent explanations for these treatment differences suggests that variations like these are likely to occur elsewhere nationwide.

"Texans are no better off in one city versus another in terms of treatment across a broad range of cancers," said Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of the institute's Center for Health and Biosciences, who co-authored the study. "One might have expected Houston residents to receive better treatment because of MD Anderson's presence, but any beneficial effects could be offset by a large number of elderly in Houston not being treated there." The research findings were published in the journal BMC Health Services Research.

CERCIT Publications

  • 2020

    Kiser KJ, Smith BD, Wang J, Fuller CD. “Après Mois, Le Déluge”:  Preparing for the coming data flood in the MRI-guided radiotherapy era. Front Oncol. 2019 Sept 30;9:983.

    PMID:  31632914

     Diao K, Smith BD. ASO Author Reflections:  Impact of surgical subspecialization in breast cancer-the case for fellowship training. Ann Surg Oncol. 2020 Apr;27(4):1023-1024.

    PMID:  31965367

     Harrison R, Zhao H, Sun CC, Fu S, Armbruster S, et al. Body mass index and attitudes towards health behaviors among women with endometrial cancer before and after treatment. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2020 Feb;30(2):187-192. 

    		PMID:  31843871 

     Bruera S, Lei X, Zogala R, Pundole X, Zhao H, et al. Cervical cancer screening in women with systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Aug 16. Doi:  10.1002/acr.24414.  

     PMID:  32799430 

    Kantor O, Niu J, Zhao H, Giordano SH, Hunt KK, et al. Comparative analysis of proposed strategies for incorporating biologic factors into breast cancer staging. Ann Surg Oncol. 2020 July; 27(7):2229-2237.

    		PMID:  31916091 

     Sharma M, Johnson ML, Zhao H, Giordano SH, Holmes HM. Concordance between electronic health record data and Medicare Part D claims data for oral anticancer drug use. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Apr 1;3(4):e203821.

    PMID:  32352527 

     Tang C, Lei X, Smith GL, Pan HY, Hess K, et al. Costs and complications after a diagnosis of prostate cancer treated with time-efficient modalities:  an analysis of national Medicare data. Pract Radiat Oncol. Jul-Aug 2020;10(4):282-292.

    		PMID:  32298794 

    Smith-Graziani D, Lei X, Giordano SH, Zhao H, Karuturi M, et al. Delayed initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy in older women with breast cancer. Cancer Med. 2020 Oct;9(1):6961-6971. 

    		PMID:  32767723 

     Smith BD, Le X, Diao K, Xu Y, Shen Y, et al. Effect of surgeon factors on long-term patient-reported outcomes after breast-conserving therapy in older breast cancer survivors. Ann Surg Oncol. 2020 Apr;27(4):1013-1022.

    		PMID:  31916092 

     Elting LS, Lia KP, Giordano SH, Guadagnolo BA. Hospice enrollment among cancer patients in Texas covered by Medicare managed care and traditional fee-for-service plans:  a statewide population-based study. Support Cancer Care. 2020 Jul;28(7):3351-3359.

    		PMID:  31760519 

     

     de Melo Gagliato D, Lei X, Giordano SH, Valero V, Barcenas CH, et al. Impact of delayed neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy on overall survival among patients with breast cancer. Oncologist. 2020 Sep;25(9):749-757.

    PMID:  32431013

     Grant S, Liao K, Miller C, Peterson S, Elting LS, Guadagnolo BA. Lower levels of trust in the medical profession among white, younger, and more-educated individuals with cancer. Am J Clin Oncol. 2021 Mar 3. doi:  10.1097/COC.0000000000000771

    PMID:  33653973

     

     Smith BD, Goetz MP, Boughey JC. Multidisciplinary management of breast cancer with extensive regional nodal involvement. J Clin Oncon. 2020 Jul 10;38(20):2290-2298.

    PMID:  32442073

     

     Nelson DB, Niu J, Mitchell KG, Sepesi B, Hofstetter WL, et al. Persistent opioid use among the elderly after lung resection:  A SEER-Medicare study. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020 Jan;109(1):194-202.

    PMID:  31445908 

     Shen C, Thornton JD, Gu D, Dodge D, Zhou S, et al. Prolonged opioid use after surgery for early-stage breast cancer. Oncologist. 2020 Oct;25(10):e1574-e1582.

    PMID:  32390251 

     Mehta HB, Yong S, Sura S, Hughes BD, Kuo YF, et al. Development of comorbidity score for patients undergoing major surgery. Health Serv Res. 2019 Dec;54(5):1223-1232.

    PMID:  31576566

     Ost DE, Niu J, Zhao H, Grosu HB, Giordano SH. Quality gaps and comparative effectiveness research in lung cancer staging and diagnosis. Chest. 2020 May;157(5):1322-1345. 

    PMID:  31610159

     Suarez-Almazor ME, Herrera R, Lei X, Chavez-MacGregor M, Zhao H, et al. Survival in older women with early stage breast cancer receiving low-dose bisphosphonates or densumab. Cancer. 2020 Sept 1;1265(17):3929-3938.

    		PMID:  32573777 

Multi-PI Grants: A Workshop Presented by James S. Goodwin, MD and others at UTMB

Fun with Medicare Part D Data: A CERCIT Workshop presented by James S. Goodwin, MD, August 2014

Shared Decision Making in Cancer Care: A CERCIT Workshop presented by Nina Tamirisa, MD, August 2014

The Use of Surgery in the Elderly for Management of Metastatic Epidural Spinal Cord Compression: A CERCIT Workshop presented by Justin E. Bird, MD, June 2014

Population-Based Assessment of Breast Reconstruction: A CERCIT Workshop presented by Ben Smith, MD, June 2014

Fact Sheets 

Prostate Cancer [PDF]: Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Testing in Men Aged 65 & Older

Mammography [PDF]: Mammography in Women Aged 65 & Older

Colonoscopy [PDF]: Colonoscopy in Adults Aged 65 & Older

Reports and Special Publications

Surveillance Patterns Following Lung Cancer Resection [PDF]: This report describes the current population-based trends in surveillance practices and the use of these modalities in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following curative resection.

Comparative Effectiveness of MRI vs. Mammography Alone in Patients Undergoing Breast-Conserving Therapy for Breast Cancer [PDF]: This report compares the effectiveness of MRI vs. mammography alone in patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy for breast cancer.

Hispanic Cancer Report [PDF]: From A quarterly publication of the Texas Public Health Association (TPHA) Supplement, Fall 2013, A Comprehensive Report on Cancer among Hispanics in Texas.

CERCIT Featured in the Texas Public Health Journal Summer 2013

Using research to keep Texans informed about cancer care – that is at the heart of CERCIT (Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas). A description of this project and selected articles from its four research areas are featured in the Spring 2013 issue of the Texas Public Health Journal, a quarterly publication of the Texas Public Health Association (pages 22-55):

CERCIT: Research to Keep Texans Informed About Cancer Care [PDF], p 22-29

Utilization of BRCA testing in older women with breast and/or ovarian cancer in the state of Texas [PDF], p 30-36

Prostate Cancer Treatment Patterns in the State of Texas, 2004-2007 [PDF], p 37-43

The Current Utilization of Breast and Prostate Cancer Screening in Older Adults in Texas [PDF], p 22-29

The Human and Economic Burden of Cervical Cancer in Texas [PDF], p 51-55

Just how much does cancer cost in Texas? [PDF] Texas Public Health Journal, Vol 63, Issue 4, Fall 2011. Findings are reported in the Cost of Cancer in Texas, 2005 [PDF] published by the Texas Cancer Council.

In the first five years of CERCIT, we offered clinician-scientist training in Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas. Trainees attended monthly workshops. A selection of those workshop presentations are now available as resources linked below:

CERCIT Presentations

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CERCIT is a multidisciplinary consortium of investigators at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), UT Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas (UTSW), and the Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Cancer Registry. CERCIT is funded by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Manuscript Acknowledgement: This work was supported [in part] by the Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas (CERCIT) Grant #RP160674, funded by The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).