Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Radiotherapy Utilisation Rates for Older Patients with Head and Neck Cancer in Qld: How do we compare?   (#309)

Penny Mackenzie 1 2 , Victoria Donoghue 3 , Bryan Burmeister 1 4 , Tracey Guan 3 , Danica Cossio 3
  1. Queensland Cancer Control Safety and Quality Partnership, Radiation Oncology Cancer Subcommittee, Brisbane , Queensland, Australia
  2. Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  3. Cancer Alliance Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. GenesisCare, Fraser Coast, Queensland, Australia

Aims 

To determine the actual radiotherapy utilisation (RTU) rate for older patients with Head and Neck Cancer in Queensland, and compare the actual rates with the optimal radiotherapy utilisation rates. Previous research has estimated that the optimal RTU rate for patients with head and neck cancer is 74%. That is, 74% of patients should receive radiotherapy after a diagnosis of Head and Neck Cancer. However, there is limited data on the actual RTU rate for older patients with Head and Neck Cancer in QLD. 

Methods 

QLD Cancer Registry data linked to radiotherapy data and hospitalisation data using the combined data sources of Queensland Oncology Repository from 2012-2021 to determine the number of patients diagnosed with Head and Neck Cancer and the proportion of patients receiving radiotherapy according to the following age groups <65 years, 65-74 years, 75-84 years, 85+ years.    

Results 

8150 patients were diagnosed with Head and Neck cancer from 2012-2021. 14% (1105 patients) were aged 75-84 years and 5% (367) aged 85+ years. The overall radiotherapy utilisation rate was 67%. The radiotherapy utilisation rate decreased with increasing age. For patients aged <65 years the actual RTU rate was 71%, for patients aged 65-74 years the actual RTU rate was 67%, for patients aged 75-84 years the actual RTU rate was 56% and for patients aged 85% years the actual RTU rate was 43%. 

Conclusion 

The overall RTU was less than the optimal RTU for all age groups. For patients <65 years, the actual RTU approached the optimal RTU.   However, the actual RTU for patients aged 75-84 years was nearly 25% less than the optimal RTU. Further work is required to determine the other factors that contribute to this underutilisation of radiotherapy. 

  1. Delaney G, Jacob S, Barton M: Estimation of an optimal external beam radiotherapy utilization rate for head and neck carcinoma. Cancer: Interdisciplinary International Journal of the American Cancer Society 2005, 103(11):2216-2227.