Increased access to broadband usage was associated with earlier-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis and with receiving guideline-concordant care in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The findings were presented at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium. Qinjin Fan, PhD, MS, senior scientist, health services research at the American Cancer Society, and colleagues analyzed data from adult patients who were diagnosed with first primary NSCLC between 2019 and 2021. The researchers identified 305,198 survey participants from the National Cancer Database, and broadband usage percentage was combined with the cohort based on an individual’s residential zip code.
The researchers concluded that people with the highest broadband internet usage quartile were more likely to be diagnosed with stage I NSCLC and treated with guidelines-concordant neoadjuvant chemoradiation compared with those living in areas with the lowest broadband usage quartile.
When stratified by metropolitan status, associations of broadband and neoadjuvant chemoradiation were observed only among individuals living in nonmetropolitan areas with medium-low and medium-high broadband usage.
Researchers suggest access to broadband is a social determinant of health, facilitating connections with healthcare services and other resources and alleviating burdens of travel distance, time, and cost.
Reference
- Fan W, Xu M, Ogongo MK, et al. Association of area-level broadband and non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis and guideline-concordant care in the US. JCO Oncol Pract. 2024;20(suppl 10): Abstract 96. https://doi.org/10.1200/OP.2024.20.10_suppl.96