Joshi M, Polimera H, Krupski T, Necchi A. Geography Should Not Be an "Oncologic Destiny" for Urothelial Cancer: Improving Access to Care by Removing Local, Regional, and International Barriers.
Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book 2022;
42:1-14. [PMID:
35471833 DOI:
10.1200/edbk_350478]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Urothelial cancer care is particularly susceptible to geographical health disparity given its complex nature, requiring access to several specialists such as a urologist, a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, a surgical oncologist, and multidisciplinary care teams. Furthermore, other barriers to care access in underserved areas include travel burden, longer wait times, late-stage disease at the time of diagnosis, cost, type of treatment, less enrollment in clinical trials, lack of follow-up among cancer survivors, and less research funding in this area. Here, we discuss the impact of geographical location on access to urothelial cancer care, management decisions, and outcomes and we reflect on how to address geographical disparities in care delivery.
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