Socioeconomic and Geographic Disparities in Anorectal and Urinary Procedures Following Radiotherapy for Prostate...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Public Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Understanding treatment outcome variations by patient characteristics is crucial for optimizing clinical practice.
• Prostate cancer radiotherapy can lead to adverse effects, necessitating monitoring of post-treatment procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate socioeconomic and geographic disparities in post-radiotherapy procedures among men with prostate cancer.
• To identify short-term radiotherapy adverse effects indicated by anorectal and urinary procedures.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 8344 South Australian men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2002-2020 who received external beam radiotherapy was studied.
• Anorectal and urinary procedures within two years post-radiotherapy were identified using hospital admission and Medicare Benefits Schedule codes.
• Multivariable adjusted zero-inflated Poisson regression was used to analyze socioeconomic and geographic disparities.

Main Results:

• Fifteen percent of men required at least one post-radiotherapy procedure within two years.
• Men in the highest socioeconomic quintile had significantly lower rates of overall, anorectal, and urinary procedures compared to the lowest quintile.
• Men from non-metropolitan areas had higher rates of anorectal procedures, particularly those with low socioeconomic advantage. More recent radiotherapy treatment correlated with lower procedure rates.

Conclusions:

• Significant variations in anorectal and urinary procedures following radiotherapy were observed across different population subgroups.
• These disparities suggest potential socioeconomic and geographic inequities in managing radiotherapy adverse effects in prostate cancer patients.
• Enhanced follow-up care is essential for at-risk patient subgroups to address these disparities.