NAVAH Impact on Radiation Therapy Completion in Black Breast & Prostate Cancer Patients

Summary

African-Americans have disparately limited access to optimal cancer care. They have the highest overall cancer death rate and shortest survival time of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. Elucidation of disparities in access to cancer care are important since previous work has indicated that when equal access to RT in Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) prospective randomized trials is granted, race does not independently affect outcomes, a finding similar to work conducted in Level I evidence-proven optimal management of curable neurologic conditions. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in African-American women and Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in African-American men. African-American breast & prostate cancer participants are less likely to receive standard-of-care radiation therapy.Previous work has identified that compared to Caucasian women with breast cancer, African-American women are 48% more likely to have RT omission during treatment, 167% less likely to receive timely completion of RT after breast-conserving surgery, 40% less likely to complete RT, and significantly more likely to experience RT treatment delays. Shorter course radiation therapy may reduce disparities in radiation therapy care facing African-American breast cancer participants.