The relationship between facility structure and outcome in cancer of the prostate and uterine cervix.

Abstract

Since 1972, the Patterns of Care Study (PCS) has investigated the quality and demographics of clinical radiation therapy in the United States. Using outcome results from a study of patients treated for carcinoma of the cervix or adenocarcinoma of the prostate in 1978, an evaluation of the relationship of outcome to facility structure was undertaken. Binary logistic regression of outcome on stage and structure showed consistent but modest contributions of structure, even after the effects of stage were considered. Implications of these findings are discussed.