• Chunzi Jenny Jin, Weidong Kong, and William J Mackillop.
• Department of Oncology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
• Radiother Oncol. 2018 Sep 1; 128 (3): 541-547.

Background And PurposeEstimates of appropriate treatment rates are required for monitoring and improving access to cancer care. Optimal utilization rates for palliative radiotherapy (PRT) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain undefined. We aim to estimate the appropriate PRT rate for the general NSCLC population.Materials And MethodsOntario's population-based cancer registry identified patients with NSCLC who died of their disease between 2006 and 2010. Multivariate analysis identified factors affecting PRT use, enabling us to define a benchmark population with unimpeded access to PRT. Proportion of cases treated in the last 2 years of life (PRT2y) was standardized to overall population characteristics. Benchmarks were compared to province-wide PRT2y rates.ResultsAvailability of RT at the diagnosing hospital was the dominant determinant of increased PRT utilization. Patients diagnosed at hospitals with on site RT were therefore designated the benchmark population. The standardized benchmark for PRT2y was 56%, compared to the province-wide rate of 49%. The gap between actual and optimal rates varied across patient ages, treatment indications, and geographic regions.ConclusionsApproximately 56% of patients who die of NSCLC in Ontario need PRT, but many are never treated.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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