Patients who miss two or more radiation therapy sessions are at greater risk for recurrence than those who don't, according to a study published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center evaluated 1,227 patients scheduled for courses of external-beam radiation therapy for cancers of the head and neck, breast, lung, cervix, uterus, or rectum from 2007 to 2012. Twenty-two percent of these patients missed two or more scheduled treatment appointments, although all patients eventually completed the radiation therapy course planned for them (Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, November 1, 2015, Vol. 93:3, pp. E351-E352).
Among the patients who missed appointments, 16% later experienced a recurrence of their cancers, Dr. Nitin Ohri and colleagues found. In comparison, there was a 7% recurrence rate among those who did not miss appointments.
Missed treatments may be a behavioral biomarker for identifying high-risk patients who require additional interventions to make radiation therapy most effective, according to the researchers. Some of these interventions could include managing patient mood disorders, patient navigator programs, and assistance with transportation.
