Disparities in Palliative Treatment Utilization in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Palliative Care
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) presents diverse symptoms requiring multidisciplinary care.
• Palliative treatment improves quality of life but faces sociodemographic disparities in utilization.
• Understanding these disparities is crucial for equitable mCRC patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize sociodemographic disparities in palliative treatment use among mCRC patients.
• To identify factors associated with palliative care utilization in mCRC.
• To compare palliative treatment rates across different metastatic sites and patient groups.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 106,241 mCRC patients from the National Cancer Database (2016-2020).
• Categorization of patients by metastatic site (peritoneal, liver, lung, bone/brain/lymph node).
• Comparison of palliative treatment rates based on metastatic site, patient demographics, and hospital characteristics.

Main Results:

• Only 18.08% of mCRC patients received palliative treatment.
• Patients with multiple metastatic sites (24.0%) had higher rates than those with solely peritoneal metastases (14.0%).
• Younger age, higher education levels were associated with increased palliative treatment use; Hispanic ethnicity showed no significant difference.

Conclusions:

• Palliative treatment rates vary significantly among mCRC patients based on metastatic site and sociodemographic factors.
• Patients with peritoneal metastases and older age show lower utilization.
• Further research is needed to address identified disparities in palliative care for mCRC.