Treatment rates for both surgical resection and SBRT increased for all patients who received the intervention. Among patients in the intervention, 96 percent received resection or SBRT for early stage lung cancer, compared to rates of 64 to 76 percent for the baseline group and 85 to 87 percent for the control group.

The intervention also eliminated the racial disparity in treatment rates for this cohort. Rates of receiving potentially curative treatment were 96 percent for both African American and White patients in the intervention, compared to a gap in baseline rates of 12 percent (i.e., 64 percent for African American vs. 76 percent for White patients).


"The history of racial inequality in healthcare has been long standing. Health disparity has been defined, studied, and accepted for decades, yet these chasms continue to harm large groups of patients," said Matthew A. Manning, MD, radiation oncologist at Cone Health Cancer Center in Greensboro, North Carolina and lead author of the study. "Our findings show that an evidence-based, strategic intervention can essentially eliminate a racial disparity while improving rates of treatment completion for all races."

Treatment rates compared to baseline also increased for the control group of all patients at the cancer center (i.e., including those not enrolled in the trial). Researchers attributed this finding to a likely spillover effect, where even patients who were not enrolled in the trial may have benefitted from staff training and other structural or cultural changes at the center.

Age and disease stage significantly impacted treatment rates, but comorbidity affected rates of surgical resection only. Patients younger than age 70 were more likely to receive treatment with SBRT or resection (Odds Ratio (OR), 1.9; p p p

"As we move into an era of population health, the responsibility for incomplete courses of cancer treatment will shift from the individual patient to the health care delivery system," said Dr. Manning. "The ACCURE trial represents one of the first studies to demonstrate an intervention to prospectively eliminate racial disparity in cancer treatment. The results suggest that treatment inequity can be closed, not just for African Americans with early stage lung cancer, but for other underserved populations and other types of cancer."

The abstract, "Reducing Racial Disparities in Treatment for Early Stage Lung Cancer with a Multimodal Intervention," will be presented in detail during a scientific session at ASTRO's 58th Annual Meeting at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, September 26, 2016. To speak with Dr. Manning or obtain a copy of the study abstract, please contact ASTRO's media relations team on-site at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center September 25 through 28, by phone at 703-286-1600 or by email at press@astro.org.

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