Delays in radiation therapy lead to increased breast cancer ...(eks of the typical five-to-seven-week re...),Health

The researchers also found treatment disparities in subgroups of older women. "Older black women were more likely to delay radiation treatment, whereas women living in areas with a high concentration of radiation oncologists were less likely to delay. Additionally, older women living in high-poverty areas were less likely to complete radiation treatment," says Dr. Gold.

The work appears in the latest online issue of the journal Cancer and the Dec. 1, 2008, print issue. Research collaborators include Huong T. Do, M.A., and Andrew W. Dick, Ph.D., senior economist at the RAND Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The study is based on an evaluation of women aged 65 and older diagnosed with either DCIS or Stage 1 breast cancer from 1991 to 1999 and followed through 2002 in registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.

This nationally representative, population-based study of older women provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of suboptimal treatment in the community setting. "Our findings indicate that radiation treatment should be made easier for all patients to ensure completion and that delays should be minimized. To improve health outcomes following treatment for breast cancer, health care facilities and providers should implement supportive services, such as transportation, and provide educational materials to encourage and ease access to optimal radiation treatment, thereby improving disease-free and overall survival," said Dr. Andrew Dick, senior author on the study.

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