TY - JOUR
T1 - Predictors of radiation therapy noncompliance in an urban academic cancer center
AU - Ohri, Nitin
AU - Rapkin, Bruce D.
AU - Guha, Debayan
AU - Haynes-Lewis, Hilda
AU - Guha, Chandan
AU - Kalnicki, Shalom
AU - Garg, Madhur
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Purpose: To quantify the frequency of patient noncompliance in an urban radiation oncology department and identify predictors of noncompliance. Methods and Materials: We identified patients treated with external beam radiation therapy (RT) with curative intent in our department from 2007 to 2012 for 1 of 7 commonly treated malignancies. Patients who missed 2 or more scheduled RT appointments were deemed "noncompliant." An institutional database was referenced to obtain clinical and demographic information for each patient, as well as a quantitative estimate of each patient's socioeconomic status. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with RT noncompliance. Results: A total of 2184 patients met eligibility criteria. Of these, 442 (20.2%) were deemed "noncompliant." On multivariate analysis, statistically significant predictors of noncompliance included diagnosis of head-and-neck, cervical, or uterine cancer, treatment during winter months, low socioeconomic status, and use of a long treatment course (all P<.05). Conclusion: This is the first large effort examining patient noncompliance with daily RT. We have identified demographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors that can be used to identify patients at high risk for noncompliance. These findings may inform future strategies to improve adherence to prescribed therapy.
AB - Purpose: To quantify the frequency of patient noncompliance in an urban radiation oncology department and identify predictors of noncompliance. Methods and Materials: We identified patients treated with external beam radiation therapy (RT) with curative intent in our department from 2007 to 2012 for 1 of 7 commonly treated malignancies. Patients who missed 2 or more scheduled RT appointments were deemed "noncompliant." An institutional database was referenced to obtain clinical and demographic information for each patient, as well as a quantitative estimate of each patient's socioeconomic status. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with RT noncompliance. Results: A total of 2184 patients met eligibility criteria. Of these, 442 (20.2%) were deemed "noncompliant." On multivariate analysis, statistically significant predictors of noncompliance included diagnosis of head-and-neck, cervical, or uterine cancer, treatment during winter months, low socioeconomic status, and use of a long treatment course (all P<.05). Conclusion: This is the first large effort examining patient noncompliance with daily RT. We have identified demographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors that can be used to identify patients at high risk for noncompliance. These findings may inform future strategies to improve adherence to prescribed therapy.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2014.09.030
DO - 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2014.09.030
M3 - Article
C2 - 25835626
AN - SCOPUS:84923008115
SN - 0360-3016
VL - 91
SP - 232
EP - 238
JO - International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics
JF - International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics
IS - 1
ER -