Abstract C51: Definitive radiation therapy for cervical cancer: Race as a risk factor for delayed completion, preliminary findings

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To assess whether racial disparities exist in time to completion of external beam pelvic radiation therapy and brachytherapy in cervical cancers treated with definitive chemoradiation. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all cervical cancer patients treated with definitive radiotherapy between 2006 and 2016. Analyses were performed according to the following distinct definitions of wait times: interval from pathologic diagnosis of cervical cancer to (1) initiation of radiation therapy, (2) completion of external beam radiation therapy, and (3) completion of brachytherapy. The duration of external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy was also calculated. Results: A total of 50 women underwent primary external beam pelvic radiation therapy for cervical cancer at our institution over a 10-year period. Of 50 women, 21 self-identified as White, 25 as African-American (AA), and 4 as Hispanic. Due to small numbers, Hispanic women were excluded. Thus, a total of 46 patients were analyzed. The average age was 52 years for both White and AA women in this cohort. Mean days to initiation of radiation therapy was 42.5 days: 33.7 days (median 32 days) among White patients versus 49.8 days (median 40 days) for AA patients (p-value 0.058). Mean days from diagnosis to completion of pelvic radiation therapy was 81.4 days: 70.9 days (median 69 days) among White patients versus 90.3 days (median 84 days) among AA (p-value 0.026). Mean days from diagnosis to completion of brachytherapy were noted to be 87.1 days for White patients and 103.7 days for AA patients (p-value 0.035). The duration of ERBT and brachytherapy was 57.2 for White patients and 56.6 for AA patients (p-value 0.818). Conclusion: African-American patients experienced delays to initiating radiation therapy, which resulted in delays to completing external beam radiation and brachytherapy. However, there was no difference in the duration of treatment between groups. Therefore, we conclude that once patients begin treatment, they complete treatment within the similar time frame of 57 days regardless of race. Studies to determine the effect of delayed initiation on survival outcomes are under way. Directed patient navigation programs may be helpful to decrease the delay to initiating radiation therapy for African-American patients. Citation Format: Shariska Petersen, Dmitry Davydov, Yafa Davydova, Michael FitzGerald, Thomas Buekers. Definitive radiation therapy for cervical cancer: Race as a risk factor for delayed completion, preliminary findings [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr C51.