The Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Location and Delivery of Palliative Radiotherapy

Among patients that underwent palliative RT (pRT) at a single institution, we evaluated whether differences exist across race and ethnicity in location of pRT consultation and delivery of pRT.

This retrospective study included cancer patients aged 18 years or older who received pRT between 10/2021 and 10/2022. Logistic regression models were used to examine univariable (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) associations between race and pRT consult in the inpatient (vs. outpatient) setting. A subset analysis of quality metrics for pRT delivery was limited to patients who had outpatient consults for pain.

Four hundred forty patients underwent 548 pRT consults (104 inpatient and 444 outpatient) followed by a course of pRT. Most patients were male (58.2%), White non-Hispanic (WNH) (72.6%), and English-speaking (92.9%). On MVA adjusting for histology, language, and insurance type, consults for Black/African American (BAA) patients had 2.92 higher odds of being performed in the inpatient setting compared with consults for WNH patients (95% CI: 1.28-6.70, P =0.011), although the global P -value was P =0.217. Among 290 outpatient consults for painful lesions, no differences in time to pRT start (global P =0.84), number of prescribed fractions of RT (global P =0.94), or new prescriptions for opioids (global P =0.69) were noted by race and ethnicity.

In this study, BAA race was associated with the location of pRT consultation, but no discernible differences were noted regarding the outpatient delivery of pRT for pain. These findings support the importance of inpatient pRT programs to ensure equitable access. More research is needed to understand barriers to outpatient consult.