Two recently published studies find that people who don't have insurance or who have certain types of public insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced cancer than people with private insurance.

Studies have shown that the more than 46 million Americans without health insurance and those who are underinsured are less likely to receive preventive care, to seek care in a timely manner or to comply with recommended treatments. Physicians with the American Cancer Society recently studied the link between insurance status and disease severity in oropharyngeal and breast cancers. They found that health insurance was the strongest predictor of stage and tumor size at diagnosis. Breast cancer patients who were uninsured or Medicaid insured were almost two-and-one-half times more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease than those who had private insurance.

The authors recommend increasing access to health care and targeting screening programs for the uninsured or underinsured to help lessen this modifiable prognostic factor. The studies appear in the July 15, 2007, issue of Cancer.