Primary radiotherapy for nonsurgically managed Stage I endometrial cancer: Utilization and impact of brachytherapy

Abstract Purpose The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was analyzed to evaluate practice patterns and the impact of radiotherapy modalities for endometrial cancer treated with primary radiotherapy. Methods and Materials The NCDB was queried for Stage I endometrioid adenocarcinoma patients treated with primary radiotherapy without surgery from 1998 to 2006. Brachytherapy (BT) utilization factors were established using multivariable logistic regression. Log-rank and Cox proportional hazards modeling were used to assess variables impacting survival. Results A total of 853 patients were analyzed: 23.7%, 31.3%, and 45.0% received BT alone, external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and BT, or EBRT alone. The BT utilization ranged from 40.5% to 51.9% over time ( p  = 0.70). Lower utilization was associated with advanced age (≥80 years: odds ratio [OR] 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28–0.65, p p p p p p  = 0.02) compared with EBRT + BT. No difference was seen using BT alone (HR 1.29, 95% CI 0.92–1.79, p  = 0.14). Conclusion BT utilization for nonsurgically managed endometrial cancer remains low with most patients receiving EBRT alone. Despite concerns of overtreatment in a population with competing causes of death, BT appears to improve survival.