(HealthDay)—Patients with colon cancer who are in the U.S. military health system, with universal health care, have better survival than those in the general U.S. population, according to a study published online June 23 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Jie Lin, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the Department of Defense Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program to estimate all-cause mortality among patients with colon cancer in the military health system (11,907 individuals) versus the general population (23,814 individuals).

The researchers found that overall, ACTUR patients had better survival versus SEER patients (hazard ratio, 0.82). Findings were similar for subgroups according to age, gender, and Black and White race. Even when adjusting for tumor stage, better survival persisted.

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