Table 1. Characteristics of Children and Youth in Ontario, Canada, With a First Primary Cancer Diagnosed Between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2022, Who Resided in Satellite Catchment Areas.
| Characteristics | Patients, No. (%) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (N = 1280 ([100.0%]) | Visited a satellite clinic within 1 y of diagnosis (n = 844 [65.9%]) | Did not visit a satellite clinic within 1 y of diagnosis (n = 436 [34.1%]) | ||
| Age at diagnosis, y | ||||
| Median (IQR) | 7.0 (3.0-13.0) | 7.0 (3.0-13.0) | 6.0 (2.0-13.0) | .27 |
| 0-4 | 498 (38.9) | 329 (39.0) | 169 (38.8) | .71 |
| 5-9 | 262 (20.5) | 166 (19.7) | 96 (22.0) | |
| 10-14 | 311 (24.3) | 206 (24.4) | 105 (24.1) | |
| 15-17 | 209 (16.3) | 143 (16.9) | 66 (15.1) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 527 (41.2) | 357 (42.3) | 170 (39.0) | .25 |
| Male | 753 (58.8) | 487 (57.7) | 266 (61.0) | |
| Diagnosis group | ||||
| Leukemia and lymphoma | 694 (54.2) | 461 (54.6) | 233 (53.4) | <.001 |
| Solid (non-CNS) tumors | 374 (29.2) | 273 (32.3) | 101 (23.2) | |
| CNS and germ cell CNS tumors | 212 (16.6) | 110 (13.0) | 102 (23.4) | |
| Residential location | ||||
| Urban | 1150 (89.8) | 761 (90.2) | 389 (89.2) | .60 |
| Rural | 130 (10.2) | 83 (9.8) | 47 (10.8) | |
| Drive time or distance saveda | ||||
| Time from residence to satellite clinic, median (IQR), min | 24.1 (13.6-34.9) | 23.7 (12.2-35.0) | 25.3 (16.0-34.7) | .003 |
| Distance from residence to satellite clinic, median (IQR), km | 22.3 (10.6-36.7) | 21.4 (9.0-36.4) | 23.7 (13.2-36.9) | .003 |
| Time saved from residence to satellite clinic vs specialized childhood cancer center, min | ||||
| Median (IQR) | 22.0 (16.0-46.3) | 24.9 (17.4-55.8) | 17.4 (9.7-27.5) | <.001 |
| <0 | 22 (1.7) | 6 (0.7) | 16 (3.7) | <.001 |
| 0-30 | 789 (61.6) | 469 (55.6) | 320 (73.4) | |
| 31-60 | 244 (19.1) | 183 (21.7) | 61 (14.0) | |
| 61-120 | 98 (7.7) | 80 (9.5) | 18 (4.1) | |
| >120 | 127 (9.9) | 106 (12.6) | 21 (4.8) | |
| Distance saved from residence to satellite clinic vs specialized childhood cancer center, km | ||||
| Median (IQR) | 25.1 (17.2-55.0) | 29.8 (19.4-64.9) | 20.3 (19.4-32.3) | <.001 |
| <0 | 57 (4.5) | 25 (3.0) | 32 (7.3) | <.001 |
| 0-50 | 867 (67.7) | 530 (62.8) | 337 (77.3) | |
| 51-100 | 160 (12.5) | 128 (15.2) | 32 (7.3) | |
| 101-150 | 62 (4.8) | 50 (5.9) | 12 (2.8) | |
| >150 | 134 (10.5) | 111 (13.2) | 23 (5.3) | |
| Neighborhood income quintileb | ||||
| Quintile 1 (lowest) | 166 (13.0) | 97 (11.5) | 69 (15.8) | .21 |
| Quintile 2 | 221 (17.3) | 146 (17.3) | 75 (17.2) | |
| Quintile 3 | 305 (23.8) | 212 (25.1) | 93 (21.3) | |
| Quintile 4 | 312 (24.4) | 207 (24.5) | 105 (24.1) | |
| Quintile 5 (highest) | 276 (21.6) | 182 (21.6) | 94 (21.6) | |
Abbreviation: CNS, central nervous system.
a
Drive time or distance saved is calculated as the shortest drive time or distance to the satellite clinic minus the shortest drive time or distance to specialized pediatric cancer center. Patients whose drive time to a specialized pediatric cancer center is shorter than their drive time to a satellite clinic will have drive time saved values less than 0 minutes.
b
These quintiles are defined according to the distribution of before-tax income within each census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, or residual area within Ontario based on 2016 Census (Statistics Canada) data.28