Radiotherapy in the Barwon South Western Region: A rural perspective

Introduction Cancer‐related mortality rates are higher in rural areas compared with urban regions. Whether there are corresponding geographical variations in radiotherapy utilisation rates (RURs) is the subject of this study. Methods RURs for the regional centre of Geelong and rural areas of the Bar...

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Published in:Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology 2014-10, Vol.58 (5), p.612-617
Main Authors: Henry, Margaret J, Jones, Phil, Morrissy, Kate, Matheson, Leigh M, Pitson, Graham, Healy, Pat, Coory, Michael, Lynch, Rod, Chapman, Adam, Ashley, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cancer
Female
Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Mortality
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Neoplasms - radiotherapy
population-based
Prevalence
Radiation therapy
radiotherapy utilisation rate
Radiotherapy, Conformal - utilization
rural
Rural areas
Rural Population - statistics & numerical data
Sex Distribution
Time-to-Treatment - statistics & numerical data
Utilization Review
Victoria - epidemiology
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Summary:Introduction Cancer‐related mortality rates are higher in rural areas compared with urban regions. Whether there are corresponding geographical variations in radiotherapy utilisation rates (RURs) is the subject of this study. Methods RURs for the regional centre of Geelong and rural areas of the Barwon South Western Region were calculated using a population‐based database (2009). Results Lower RURs were observed for rural patients compared with the Geelong region for prostate cancer (15.7% vs 25.8%, P = 0.02), rectal cancer (32.8% vs 44.7%, P = 0.11), lymphoma (9.4% vs 26.2%, P = 0.05), and all cancers overall (25.6% vs 28.9%, P = 0.06). This lower rate was significant in men (rural, 19.9%; Geelong, 28.3%; P = 0.00) but not in women (rural, 33.6%; Geelong, 29.7%; P = 0.88). Time from diagnosis to radiotherapy was not significantly different for patients from the two regions. Tumour staging within the rural and Geelong regions was not significantly different for the major tumour streams of rectal, prostate and lung cancer (P = 0.61, P = 0.79, P = 0.43, respectively). A higher proportion of tumours were unstaged or unstageable in the rural region for lung (44% vs 18%, P 
ISSN:1754-9477
1754-9485
DOI:10.1111/1754-9485.12208