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Long-Term Prescription Opioid Use, Cancer Stage, And Economic Burden Among Older Cancer Survivors With Non-Cancer Chronic Pain Conditions, Rudi Safarudin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Opioids are commonly prescribed to treat pain conditions, which are highly prevalent among older adults (≥65 years). Recent evidence shows that opioids may have carcinogenic effects through immunosuppression and free-radical pathways, which could promote cancer growth. Two population-based studies have reported an association of opioid use with incident cancer. Many individuals with non-cancer chronic pain conditions (NCPCs) may use opioids for a long term. However, the association of long-term prescription opioid (LPO) use with cancer stage at diagnosis is still unknown. Furthermore, evidence suggests that individuals with cancer and pre-existing NCPCs may persistently use opioids, even in the absence of …

Spatial And Temporal Variations Of Screening For Breast And Colorectal Cancer In The United States, 2008 To 2012, Xue Feng, Xi Tan, Ebtihag Alenzi, Pragya Rai, Jongwha Chang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Cancer screening tests are important tools to combat cancer-related morbidity and mortality. There is limited up-to-date research on spatial and temporal variations of colorectal and breast cancer screening in the United States.

County-level data of cancer screening adherence rates were generated from 2008 to 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We performed the univariate local indicators for spatial analyses (LISA) for the geographic differences of screening adherence rate and the differential LISA for the change of screening adherence rate from 2008 to 2012.

In the univariate LISA, low-to-low clusters were consistently identified in counties of New Mexico, Wyoming, and Mississippi …