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Table 5 Demographic, treatment centre, insurance coverage and drug characteristics comparison between on-label and off-label encounters

From: Off-label use of cancer therapies in women diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States

Variable

Variable category

Off-label (%)

Age*

15-49

621 (16.2%)

 

50-64

396 (10.4%)

 

65-74

432 (9.7%)

 

75+

187 (7.4%)

Ethnicity*

Caucasian

1113 (10.3%)

 

African American

185 (13.0%)

 

Other

95 (15.3%)

 

Unknown

243 (14.4%)

Marital status

Married

338 (11.0%)

 

Other

1293 (11.3%)

 

Unknown

5 (10.4%)

Prescription drug coverage*

Medicare

209 (9.5%)

 

Medicaid

81 (10.4%)

 

HMO/PPO

24 (6.9%)

 

Blue Cross

65 (15.3%)

 

Self-pay

21 (11.0%)

 

Other

75 (12.3%)

 

Unknown

1161 (11.6%)

Census region*

Midwest

255 (8.9%)

 

South

264 (11.4%)

 

Northeast

1088 (12.0%)

 

West

29 (9.0%)

Bed size*

1-99

477 (16.2%)

 

100-199

48 (5.7%)

 

200-299

315 (10.0%)

 

300-499

234 (9.4%)

 

500+

562 (10.9%)

Physician type*

Specialists

751 (10.9%)

 

Surgeons

22 (5.9%)

 

Generalists

28 (6.3%)

 

Unknown

835 (12.1%)

Number of approved indications*

1-2

1395 (27.6%)

 

3-4

206 (3.1%)

 

5-7

34 (9.5%)

 

8+

1 (0.0%)

Date of FDA approval*

Before 1981

130 (3.2%)

 

1981-1990

602 (78.7%)

 

1991-2000

635 (7.8%)

 

2001-2009

269 (16.1%)

  1. *Differences amongst categories for this variable are significantly different (p < 0.00001) based on a chi-square test of homogeneity.
  2. Expressed as the number and percentage of off-label encounters.
  3. Expressed as the number and percentage of off-label encounters.