ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although historic studies of state registries have demonstrated decreased radiation therapy use for patients with breast cancer living further away from radiation facilities, the association between travel distance and breast cancer treatment in a modern national cohort remains unknown. METHODS: Female patients with estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative pathologic stages I to II breast cancer were identified from the National Cancer Database (2018-2020) and dichotomized by distance ≤20 miles or >20 miles (75th percentile) from the treatment facility. The association between travel distance and type of surgery and treatment administered was analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression and after 1:1 propensity matching. RESULTS: Of the 293,318 patients identified for inclusion, the median age was 63 years, and most patients (n = 190,567, 65%) lived ≤20 miles of the treatment facility. Patients with a travel burden >20 miles were more likely to receive a mastectomy (≤20 miles 30.4% vs >20 miles 34.0%, P < .001; odds ratio 1.14, P = .016), and less likely to receive radiation (≤20 miles 63.3% vs >20% miles 60.1%, P < .001; odds ratio 0.81, P < .001). These findings persisted after propensity score matching (n = 33,544 per cohort), with patients living further being more likely to undergo a mastectomy (≤20 miles 30.3% vs >20 miles 35.3%, P < .001) and less likely to receive radiation (≤ 20 miles 65.4% vs. >20 miles 58.5%, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Patients with hormone receptor-positive stage I to II breast cancer with a larger travel burden are more likely to receive a mastectomy and less likely to undergo radiation therapy to treat their disease.