Dr. Keating’s research is focused on quality of care and outcomes of care for patients with cancer, across the spectrum of disease, including screening, diagnosis and treatment, surveillance care, and end of life care. Dr. Keating has applied rigorous methodology from the fields of clinical…
more epidemiology and health services research to answer important questions about health care delivery. A major focus of her work addresses the impact of physicians and systems of care on quality of care and outcomes. She has recently completed a large evaluation of the quality of cancer care for veterans treated in the Veterans Affairs Health System, and other work has assessed the impact of hospitals and physicians on receipt of recommended therapies and disparities in care. Dr. Keating has also studied effectiveness of therapies in large populations of cancer patients who are typically older and with more comorbid illness than those enrolled in clinical trials. She was the first to demonstrate an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease among men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, which has stimulated many related studies and reassessment of how this therapy is used. She has also studied physicians beliefs’ and reported practice patterns regarding use of guideline-recommended treatments for older and sicker patients who differ from patients typically enrolled in clinical trials, and this work has led to calls for including more older patients and patients with comorbid illness in cancer clinical trials.
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