Persistent Use of Extended Fractionation Palliative Radiotherapy for Medicare Beneficiaries With Metastatic Breast Cancer, 2011 to 2014.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

With no evidence to support extended radiation courses for the palliation of bone metastases, multiple guidelines were issued discouraging its use. We assessed contemporary use and cost of prolonged palliative radiotherapy in Medicare beneficiaries with bone metastases from breast cancer.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective, longitudinal study of palliative radiotherapy use among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with bone metastasis from breast cancer who underwent palliative radiotherapy during 2011 to 2014. Patients were categorized according to the number of days (fractions) on which they received palliative radiotherapy: 1, 2 to 10, 11 to 19, or 20 to 30. We examined the association of clinical, demographic, and provider characteristics with the use o

SUBMITTER: Yu JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6538429 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature