Radiation therapy utilization in Medicare beneficiaries with early-stage breast cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is increasing evidence that radiation therapy (RT) can be omitted for select older patients who are compliant with hormonal blockade, but there is no recent claim-based analysis for determining patterns of care and guiding possible treatment recommendations.

Methods

Medicare beneficiaries who were 65 years old or older and were diagnosed with breast cancer at 1 of 12 cancer centers affiliated with an academic center in the southeastern United States were analyzed. Stage 0 or I patients treated with lumpectomy from 2012 to 2014 were identified. Patient, treatment, and center characteristics were analyzed for the utilization of RT.

Results

Among 800 women treated with lumpectomy, 64% received adjuvant radiation. The median age was 74 years. The omission

SUBMITTER: Wallace AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9678242 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature