Patterns of Pelvic Radiotherapy in Patients with Stage II/III Rectal Cancer

• Main Authors: Timothy L. Fitzgerald, Emmanuel Zervos, Jan H. Wong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2013-01-01
• Series: Journal of Cancer Epidemiology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/408460

High-level evidence supports adjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer. We examined the influence of sociodemographic factors on patterns of adjuvant radiotherapy for resected Stage II/III rectal cancer. Methods. Patients undergoing surgical resection for stage II/III rectal cancer were identified in SEER registry. Results. A total of 21,683 patients were identified. Majority of patients were male (58.8%), white (83%), and with stage III (54.9%) and received radiotherapy (66%). On univariate analysis, male gender, stage III, younger age, year of diagnosis, and higher socioeconomic status (SES) were associated with radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was delivered in 84.4% of patients <50; however, only 32.8% of those are >80 years. Logistic regression demonstrated a significant increase in the use of radiotherapy in younger patients who are <50 (OR, 10.3), with stage III (OR, 1.21), males (OR, 1.18), and with higher SES. Conclusions. There is a failure to conform to standard adjuvant radiotherapy in one-third of patients, and this is associated with older age, stage II, area-level of socioeconomic deprivation, and female sex.