Treatment time interval in breast cancer: A population-based study on the impact of type and number of cancer centres attended.

Objectives: We studied both the independent and combined effects of the places of biopsy and treatment on the treatment time interval based on a population-based study.
Methods: We analysed the proportion of patients having a treatment time interval higher than the EUSOMA recommendation of 6 weeks, as a function of the number and the type of care centres the patients attended, from a French population-based regional cohort of women treated in 2015 for an incident invasive non-metastatic cancer (n = 505).
Results: About 33% [95% CI: 27; 38] of patients had a treatment time interval higher than 6 weeks. About 48% of the patients underwent their biopsy and their initial treatment in the different centres. Results from multivariable analyses supported the impact of the type and number of centres attended on the proportion of time intervals over 6 weeks. This proportion was higher among patients with biopsy and treatment in different centres and among patients treated in a university hospital.
Conclusion: We pointed out the independent impact of the type and the number of care centres the patients attended, from biopsy to first treatment, on the treatment time interval, which is a well-known prognosis factor.
(© 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Cancer Care published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)