ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2819

Interdisciplinary - Health economics & health services research

ESTRO 2024

References:

[1] Liang W, Guan W, Chen R, et al. Cancer patients in SARS-CoV-2 infection: a nationwide analysis in China. Lancet Oncol 2020; 21(3):335e337. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20) 30096-6.

[2] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence COVID-19 rapid guideline: delivery of radiotherapy. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG162

[3] documents https://www.rcr.ac.uk/college/coronavirus-covid-19-what-rcr-doing/clinical-information/coronavirus-covid-19-cancer Royal College of Radiologists Coronavirus (COVID-19): cancer treatment

1644

Digital Poster

Association between travel time and use of radiotherapy: an observational study of 45,450 patients.

Philip McLoone 1 , Billy Sloan 2 , Cameron Watt 3 , Martin Glegg 3 , Richard Jones 3 , Anthony Chalmers 3 , David S Morrison 1

1 University of Glasgow, School of Health and Wellbeing, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 2 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Biorepository, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 3 Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Radiotherapy Physics, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Purpose/Objective:

Radiotherapy is less amenable than other cancer treatment modalities to being provided locally. There are concerns that longer travelling times to radiotherapy treatment centres may present a particular barrier for patients. Existing evidence of any association between travel time and use of radiotherapy has often been based on extremely remote communities. Our aim was to describe the relationship between travel time and use of radiotherapy in a region of the United Kingdom.

Material/Methods:

Retrospective observational study. A database of travel times from all Scottish postcode areas to all radiotherapy treatment centres in Scotland was created offline using Google Distance Matrix API. All lung, breast and prostate cancer patients in the West of Scotland were identified using the Scottish Cancer Registry and linked, using a unique personal identifier (Community Health Index), to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre radiotherapy information system (ARIA). Age, sex, socio-economic circumstances (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles) and cancer type were included. Registry and treatment data were then linked to the travel time information. Patient characteristics were compared using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests of association; the association between receipt of radiotherapy and travel time was determined using multivariable binary logistic regression.