Selected demographic and clinical characteristics and median waiting times between last chemotherapy or surgery or biopsy and first radiation therapy (RT) among patients with potentially curable cancer in Ontario (n = 1754)
| Characteristic | Cancer site; treatment; no. of patients (median waiting time, wk) [and 25th–75th percentile, wk] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breast | Cervix | Tonsil and larynx | ||
| Chemotherapy* | No chemotherapy | |||
| Health region by patients’ residence | ||||
| Central-East | 89 (5.4) [4.3–6.3] | 72 (12.0) [10.2–14.3] | 31 (4.7) [2.6–9.6] | 49 (7.9) [6.0–9.9] |
| Central-South | 40 (5.9) [4.4–10.6] | 76 (13.8) [11.2–18.4] | 22 (7.0) [4.7–8.9] | 18 (6.1) [5.4–8.0] |
| Central-West | 81 (6.0) [4.7–8.7] | 115 (13.9) [11.9–18.0] | 45 (6.9) [3.9–10.9] | 46 (7.5) [6.1–8.7] |
| East | 90 (5.4) [4.3–6.9] | 76 (10.0) [8.3–12.0] | 22 (8.1) [4.9–10.1] | 44 (7.4) [5.9–9.4] |
| North | 83 (4.7) [3.4–6.9] | 101 (8.1) [6.0–10.7] | 26 (4.1) [2.7–5.0] | 26 (5.9) [4.0–7.7] |
| South-West | 76 (5.1) [4.0–6.8] | 118 (10.9) [8.7–16.1] | 22 (6.4) [3.9–10.9] | 4 (6.3) [5.0–9.3] |
| Toronto | 119 (5.7) [4.6–7.6] | 128 (13.4) [10.1–16.1] | 29 (3.6) [2.7–7.7] | 56 (7.8) [6.5–9.9] |
| Missing | 3 — | 4 — | 2 — | 2 — |
| Patients’ SES | ||||
| Living in areas with 15% or more low-income families | 149 (5.7) [4.4–7.6] | 153 (11.9) [9.3–15.4] | 47 (4.4) [3.0–7.7] | 79 (7.1) [5.7–9.1] |
| Living in all other areas | 430 (5.1) [4.0–7.0] | 532 (12.0) [8.9–15.3] | 151 (6.0) [3.6–10.0] | 203 (7.4) [6.0–9.7] |
| Missing | 2 — | 5 — | 1 — | 2 — |
| Staging | ||||
| I | 124 (5.0) [3.8–6.3] | 473 (11.7) [8.9–14.6] | 71 (7.9) [5.6–11.1] | 112 (7.4) [5.9–9.9] |
| II | 378 (5.3) [4.3–7.4] | 175 (12.1) [10.0–16.1] | 89 (4.9) [2.6–8.3] | 71 (7.4) [6.1–9.0] |
| III | 70 (5.7) [4.7–7.9] | 38 (13.5) [8.7–17.6] | 39 (3.7) [3.0–5.0] | 69 (6.9) [5.3–8.6] |
| IV | 9 (6.9) [4.7–7.9] | 4 (22.7) [9.9–39.3] — — | 32 (7.9) [5.6–9.8] | |
| Comorbidity index (Deyo–Charlson)† | ||||
| 0 | 398 (5.4) [4.3–7.4] | 358 (11.6) [8.9–14.7] | 142 (5.0) [3.1–8.1] | 159 (7.1) [5.9–9.7] |
| 1+ | 183 (5.0) [4.0–6.9] | 332 (12.2) [9.1–16.0] | 57 (7.1) [3.7–11.0] | 125 (7.4) [5.7–8.9] |
| All patients | 581 (5.3) [4.1–7.0] | 690 (12.0) [9.0–15.3] | 199 (5.7) [3.1–9.4] | 284 (7.3) [5.9–9.1] |