Disparities in radiation therapy utilization for cancer patients in Victoria

• Published in: Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology 2022-09, Vol.66 (6), p.830-839
• Main Authors: Ong, Wee Loon, Finn, Norah, Te Marvelde, Luc, Hornby, Colin, Milne, Roger L, Hanna, Gerard G, Pitson, Graham, Elsaleh, Hany, Millar, Jeremy L, Foroudi, Farshad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Breast cancer; Diagnosis; health services; Lung cancer; Multivariate analysis; Prostate cancer; Radiation oncology; Radiation therapy; Radiotherapy utilization; Socioeconomic factors
• ISSN: 1754-9477; 1754-9485
• DOI: 10.1111/1754-9485.13407

Introduction To evaluate the proportion of cancer patients who received radiation therapy (RT) within 12 months of cancer diagnosis (RTU12) and identify factors associated with RTU12. Methods This is a population‐based cohort of individuals with incident cancer, diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 in Victoria. Data linkages were performed between the Victorian Cancer Registry and Victorian Radiotherapy Minimum Dataset. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who had RTU12. For the three most common cancers (i.e., prostate, breast and lung cancer), the time trend in RTU12 and factors associated with RTU12 were evaluated. Results The overall RTU12 in our study cohort was 26–20% radical RT and 6% palliative RT. Of the 21,735 men with prostate cancer, RTU12 was 17%, with no significant change over time (P‐trend = 0.53). In multivariate analyses, increasing age and lower socioeconomic status were independently associated with higher RTU12 for prostate cancer. Of the 20,883 women with breast cancer, RTU12 was 64%, which increased from 62% in 2013 to 65% in 2017 (P‐trend