Analysis of travel burden and travel support among patients treated at a comprehensive cancer center in the Southeastern United States.

INTRODUCTION: Travel burden leads to worse cancer outcomes. Understanding travel burden and the level and types of travel support provided at large cancer centers is critical for developing systematic programs to alleviate travel burden. This study analyzed patients who received travel assistance, including their travel burden, types and amount of travel support received, and factors that influenced these outcomes. METHODS: We analyzed 1063 patients who received travel support from 1/1/2021 to 5/1/2023 at Winship Cancer Institute, in which ~18,000 patients received cancer care annually. Travel burden was measured using distance and time to Winship sites from patients' residential address. Travel support was evaluated using the monetary value of total travel support and type of support received. Patients' sociodemographic and clinical factors were extracted from electronic medical records. Area-level socioeconomic disadvantage was coded by the Area Deprivation Index using patient ZIP codes. RESULTS: On average, patients traveled 57.2 miles and 67.3 min for care and received $74.1 in total for travel support. Most patients (88.3%) received travel-related funds (e.g., gas cards), 5% received direct rides (e.g., Uber), 3.8% received vouchers for taxi or public transportation, and 3% received combined travel support. Male and White had longer travel distance and higher travel time than female and other races, respectively. Patients residing in more disadvantaged neighborhoods had an increased travel distance and travel time. Other races and Hispanics received more travel support ($) than Black and White patients or non-Hispanics. Patients with higher travel distance and travel time were more like to receive travel-related financial support. CONCLUSION: Among patients who received travel support, those from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods had greater travel burden. Patients with greater travel burden were more likely to receive travel funds versus other types of support. Further understanding of the impact of travel burden and travel support on cancer outcomes is needed.

A Discordant Pattern of Uptake on 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT Versus 18 F-Fluciclovine PET/CT in Radiation-Induced Hepatitis : Implications for Early Postradiotherapy Imaging-Based Response Assessment.

ABSTRACT: A 62-year-old woman with right-sided invasive lobular breast carcinoma completed external beam radiotherapy 6 weeks before undergoing a 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT and 18 F-fluciclovine PET/CT scan as part of an ongoing clinical trial (NCT04750473) assessing the performance of these molecular imaging modalities in invasive lobular breast carcinoma. The 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT demonstrated a band-like area of increased radiotracer uptake in the dome of the right lobe of the liver anteriorly, whereas 18 F-fluciclovine PET/CT done a day later revealed photopenia in the corresponding area of the liver. The external beam radiotherapy plan confirmed that the radiotherapy field overlaid the region of the hepatic discordant radiotracer uptake on the PET/CT scans.

Ultrasound Histogram Assessment of Acute Breast Toxicity After Breast Cancer Radiation Therapy: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Accurate assessment of radiation-induced breast toxicity is crucial for the management of breast radiation therapy (RT). Standard assessment of breast toxicity based on clinicians' visual inspection and palpation has considerable inter- and intra-observer variability. To overcome this challenge, we present an ultrasound histogram method that objectively evaluates radiation-induced breast toxicity longitudinally. In a prospective study, patients enrolled (n = 67) received ultrasound scans at four time points: prior to RT, last day of RT, 3-4 wk post-RT and 9-12-wk post-RT. Ultrasound scans were acquired at five locations (tumor bed and 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock) on both breasts. Two hundred sixty-four ultrasound scans and 2640 B-mode images were analyzed. The histogram differences between irradiated and contralateral breasts were calculated to evaluate radiation-induced breast changes. On the basis of the B-mode images, the severity of breast toxicity was graded as absent, mild, moderate or severe. The performance of the histogram method was assessed with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The areas under the ROC curve ranged from 0.78 to 0.9 (sensitivity: 0.88-0.96, specificity: 0.53-0.83) at the lower quadrant for differentiating absent/mild from moderate/severe toxicity at various time points. This study provides preliminary evidence that ultrasound histogram differences can serve as an imaging biomarker to longitudinally assess radiation-induced acute toxicity.

The role of postmastectomy radiotherapy in women with pathologic T3N0M0 breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The authors determined the impact of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) on overall survival (OS) among patients with pT3N0M0 breast cancer in the National Cancer Data Base. METHODS: A total of 3437 patients with pT3N0M0 breast cancer who initially were treated with mastectomy between 2003 and 2011 were identified. Of these women, 1644 (47.8%) received PMRT (67% treated with chest wall RT alone and 33% treated with chest wall and regional lymph node irradiation). Univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted to identify characteristics associated with PMRT and OS. In addition, propensity score matching and interaction effect testing also were performed. RESULTS: PMRT was associated with age <40 years, private insurance coverage, treatment facility location within 10 miles of the patient's home zip code, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score of 0, tumor size ≥7 cm, and treatment with chemotherapy or hormone therapy (all P<.05). PMRT was associated with improved 5-year OS (86.3% for patients treated with PMRT vs 66.4% for patients not treated with PMRT; P<.01). In addition to PMRT (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-0.87 [P<.01]), age ≤50 years, treatment at an academic/research program, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score of 0, tumor size <7 cm, chemotherapy receipt, and hormone therapy receipt were associated with improved OS on multivariable analyses (all P<.05). Interaction testing found that PMRT improved OS independent of age, facility type, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score, tumor grade and size, surgical margin status, and receipt of chemotherapy or hormone therapy (all P>.1). Finally, propensity score matching analysis confirmed the impact of PMRT on OS (P = .02). It is interesting to note that regional lymph node irradiation did not improve OS versus chest wall RT alone (P = .09). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with pT3N0M0 breast cancer in the National Cancer Data Base, PMRT was found to be associated with improved OS regardless of surgical margin status, tumor size, and receipt of systemic therapy. Cancer 2017;123:2829-39. © 2017 American Cancer Society.