RADIOTHERAPY FOR METASTATIC BREAST CANCER IN MEXICO: RESULTS FROM THE 2015 NATIONAL SURVEY

Background: Radiation therapy is a keystone to improve survival and quality of life in breast cancer patients. In Mexico, however, scarce information is available on the obstacles faced by radio-oncologists to provide appropriate treatment. Objective: To determine the most frequent issues faced by physicians to provide radiation therapy for metastatic breast cancer in Mexico. Methods: A survey of 16 multiple-choice questions to be answered electronically by 167 radio-oncologists currently working in Mexico was designed and thereafter analyzed for differences between private and public practices, based on the responses from the surveyed participants. Results: 98.5% of surveyed responders attended patients with breast cancer. We observed a significant difference between private vs. public practice for the main difficulties in providing radiation therapy, with an increased frequency (85.8%) of "treatment cost by itself" in private practice vs. 50.7% in public practice (p < 0.05). Significant differences were observed in the "Time to initiate treatment" question, with "Less than one week" as the response in 86% of those physicians in private practice vs. 50% for those in public practice (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Using a survey targeted at radio oncologists, we analyzed the most important obstacles for accessing radiation therapy for metastatic breast cancer in Mexico. This information may be useful for healthcare decisions related to radiation therapy in women with breast cancer in Mexico.