The role of facility variation on racial disparities in use of hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

11-2019

Publication Title

J Clin Oncol

Abstract

Background: Concerns about racial disparities in the adoption of medical advances motivate investigation of the use of hypofractionated radiotherapy, a less burdensome and less costlyapproach that is efficacious for most patients with early-stage breast cancer. Methods: A prospectively collected statewide quality consortium database from 25 institutions was queried for breast cancer patients who completed hypofractionated (HF) or conventionally fractionated whole breast radiotherapy (RT) from 1/2012-12/2018. We used patient-level multivariable modeling to evaluate associations between HF use and race, controlling for patient and facility factors, and multilevel modeling to account for patient clustering within facilities. Results: Of 10,318 patients analyzed, 80% self-reported their race as White, 18% as Black, and 2% as Asian, similar to statewide and national distributions. 31% of Whites were treated at academic centers compared to 65% of Blacks and 65% of Asians. In 2018, HF was utilized in 75% of Whites versus 60% of Blacks and 68% of Asians. On patient-level multivariable analysis (see Table), Black and Asian race were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of HF receipt, despite accounting for treatment year, age, laterality, BMI, breast volume, comorbidities, stage, triple-negative status, IMRT use, academic center treatment, and 2011 ASTRO Hypofractionation Guideline eligibility. On multilevel analysis, race was no longer significantly associated with HF receipt. Conclusions: We observed thatBlack and Asian patients receive hypofractionated RT less often, despite more frequent treatment at academic centers. Multilevel modeling eliminated this disparity, suggesting that differences in facility-specific HF use may contribute. Further inquiry is needed to determine if reduction of facility-level variation may reduce disparities in accessing HF treatment.

Volume

37

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