There are surprising results from a new study that looks at whether the quality of cancer treatment depends on where you live in Texas.

The study finds that living in a certain city in Texas does not guarantee that you are going to get the right types of treatment that you need. And living in a large city versus a rural area doesn’t mean you’ll have a different prognosis.

Co-author Vivian Ho is the chair of health economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

“What we were surprised to find out is that there is no one city that is practicing more appropriate levels of cancer treatment across a range of cancers than any other city,” she said.

Regions in Texas differ widely in adherence to recommended cancer treatment for elderly patients, according to this study from Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. One might expect that Houston patients receive better treatment because of MD Anderson’s presence.

“What I would have thought of this, sort of starting out, is that oh goodness, you know, maybe Texas has large swathes of rural areas, and maybe those patients in those areas with cancer are disadvantaged. The study is saying that they’re not. Now, the study does not look at whether they travel to, say, a comprehensive cancer center in a major city. It’s saying that you can get appropriate treatment regardless of where you’re living,” Ho said.

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