Table 2.
Associations between receipt of radiation therapy in the last year of life after metastatic cancer diagnosis and socio-demographic, disease, and health services characteristics
| Characteristic | total no. | n (%) treated with RT | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entire cohort | 64,525 | 19,161 (29.7) | |
| Year of death | |||
| 2000 | 5564 | 1551 (27.9) | 0.11 |
| 2001 | 7448 | 2277 (30.6) | |
| 2002 | 8186 | 2378 (29.1) | |
| 2003 | 8534 | 2487 (29.1) | |
| 2004 | 8621 | 2675 (31.0) | |
| 2005 | 8798 | 2626 (29.9) | |
| 2006 | 8827 | 2612 (29.6) | |
| 2007 | 8547 | 2555 (29.9) | |
| Age, years | |||
| 65–69 | 11,563 | 4395 (38.0) | <0.0001 |
| 70–74 | 15,830 | 5453 (34.5) | |
| 75–79 | 16,786 | 4984 (29.7) | |
| ≥80 | 20,346 | 4329 (21.3) | |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 33,554 | 10,514 (31.3) | <0.0001 |
| Female | 30,971 | 8647 (27.9) | |
| Race/Ethnicity | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 53,497 | 16,230 (30.3) | <0.0001 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 5412 | 1373 (25.4) | |
| Hispanic | 2791 | 770 (27.6) | |
| Other | 2825 | 788 (27.9) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 33,444 | 10,952 (32.8) | <0.0001 |
| Unmarried | 10,275 | 2801 (27.3) | |
| Unknown | 20,806 | 5408 (26.0) | |
| Cancer type | |||
| Breast | 3018 | 803 (26.6) | <0.0001 |
| Colorectal | 9977 | 787 (7.9) | |
| Lung | 38,842 | 15,898 (40.9) | |
| Pancreas | 9564 | 639 (6.7) | |
| Prostate | 3124 | 1034 (33.1) | |
| Comorbidity index | |||
| 0 | 32,066 | 10,280 (26.6) | <0.0001 |
| 1 | 18,545 | 5506 (29.7) | |
| ≥2 | 13,914 | 3375 (24.3) | |
| SEER region | |||
| West/Hawaii | 26,092 | 7551 (28.9) | <0.0001 |
| Northeast | 15,003 | 4410 (29.4) | |
| Midwest | 11,321 | 3299 (29.1) | |
| South | 12,109 | 3901 (32.2) | |
| Urban vs Rural residence | |||
| Urban | 63,283 | 18,794 (29.7) | 0.9237 |
| Rural | 1241 | 367 (29.6) | |
| Median income in census tract | |||
| Lowest quartile | 15,234 | 4336 (28.5) | <0.0001 |
| Second quartile | 15,203 | 4573 (30.1) | |
| Third quartile | 15,240 | 4589 (30.1) | |
| Highest quartile | 15,230 | 4651 (30.5) | |
| Unknown | 3618 | 1012(30.0) | |
| Education level of census tract--% in the neighborhood w < 12 yrs of education | |||
| 1st quartile (highest level) | 15,444 | 4601 (29.8) | 0.0016 |
| 2nd quartile | 15,415 | 4727 (30.7) | |
| 3rd quartile | 15,444 | 4528 (29.3) | |
| 4th quartile | 15,441 | 4443 (28.8) | |
| Unknown | 1913 | 868(31.2) | |
| Radiation Oncologists per 100,000 | |||
| 0 | 23,744 | 7203 (30.3) | 0.0138 |
| 1–3 | 8228 | 2427 (29.5) | |
| 4–24 | 16,320 | 4851 (29.7) | |
| 25–147 | 16,233 | 4680 (28.8) | |
| Hospice | |||
| No | 25,388 | 6964 (27.4) | <0.0001 |
| Yes | 39,147 | 12,207 (31.2) | |
RT-radiation therapy