Trends in hypofractionation, stereotactic body radiotherapy, metastatic radiotherapy utilization, and plan pricing at a tertiary cancer center: A plan-level analysis (2018–2024).

e23210 Background: Hypofractionation radiotherapy is supported by robust evidence across multiple disease sites, yet real- world adoption patterns, economic implications, and the extent to which changes reflect sustained practice evolution rather than transient responses to the COVID-19 pandemic remain incompletely characterized, particularly in low-middle-income settings. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all curative and/or ablative external beam radiotherapy courses delivered at a tertiary cancer center between January 2018 and December 2024. Temporal trends in fractionation, metastasis-directed radiotherapy utilization, and radiotherapy plan pricing were evaluated using Spearman correlation, linear regression, generalized additive models, and data- driven change-point analysis. An approximate standardized plan price was derived from institutionally adopted pricing schedules to enable longitudinal comparisons. Results: A total of 10,527 radiotherapy plans delivered to 9,285 patients were analyzed. The mean number of fractions per treatment course declined from 23.4 in 2018 to 17.2 in 2024 (Spearman ρ = −0.93, p = 0.003). Statistically significant reductions were observed for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, with disease-specific change-points occurring in 2019–2021. The overall cohort change-point occurred in early 2022, with confidence intervals, excluding March 2020, suggesting that adoption was not temporally driven by COVID-19. The proportion of metastatic radiotherapy plans increased from 8.2% to 19.7% over the study period (ρ = 0.93, p = 0.0025). Among plans with pricing data, the mean radiotherapy plan price declined from approximately 7,299 ± 1,755 USD in 2018 to 6,933 ± 1,976 USD in 2024, corresponding to an average decrease of 83 USD per plan per year (p = 0.015). Pricing for metastatic plans remained stable over time. Conclusions: Hypofractionation and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy adoption at this high-volume center reflects a sustained, evidence-based evolution in practice across multiple disease sites. This shift was accompanied by increased use of radiotherapy for metastatic disease and a reduction in average plan pricing for high-volume primary cancers, underscoring the role of hypofractionation and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in improving treatment efficiency and health- system value in resource-constrained settings.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Published
2026-05-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.e23210
Primary Topic
Advances in Oncology and Radiotherapy
Type
article
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article

Trends in hypofractionation, stereotactic body radiotherapy, metastatic radiotherapy utilization, and plan pricing at a tertiary cancer center: A plan-level analysis (2018–2024).

Iyad Sultan, Soha Salem, Mohammad Alsmairat, Issa Mohamad et al.
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Advances in Oncology and Radiotherapy
article

Trends in hypofractionation, stereotactic body radiotherapy, metastatic radiotherapy utilization, and plan pricing at a tertiary cancer center: A plan-level analysis (2018–2024).

Iyad Sultan, Soha Salem, Mohammad Alsmairat, Issa Mohamad, Abdulla Alzibdeh, Manjit Dosanjh, Abdelatif Al-Mousa, Nooraldeen Al Asbahi, Wafa Asha, Ramiz Abu Hijlih, Minesh P. Mehta, Fawzi Abuhijla, Anoud Alnsour, May Abdel-Wahab, Jamal Khader
article en

Abstract

e23210 Background: Hypofractionation radiotherapy is supported by robust evidence across multiple disease sites, yet real- world adoption patterns, economic implications, and the extent to which changes reflect sustained practice evolution rather than transient responses to the COVID-19 pandemic remain incompletely characterized, particularly in low-middle-income settings. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all curative and/or ablative external beam radiotherapy courses delivered at a tertiary cancer center between January 2018 and December 2024. Temporal trends in fractionation, metastasis-directed radiotherapy utilization, and radiotherapy plan pricing were evaluated using Spearman correlation, linear regression, generalized additive models, and data- driven change-point analysis. An approximate standardized plan price was derived from institutionally adopted pricing schedules to enable longitudinal comparisons. Results: A total of 10,527 radiotherapy plans delivered to 9,285 patients were analyzed. The mean number of fractions per treatment course declined from 23.4 in 2018 to 17.2 in 2024 (Spearman ρ = −0.93, p = 0.003). Statistically significant reductions were observed for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, with disease-specific change-points occurring in 2019–2021. The overall cohort change-point occurred in early 2022, with confidence intervals, excluding March 2020, suggesting that adoption was not temporally driven by COVID-19. The proportion of metastatic radiotherapy plans increased from 8.2% to 19.7% over the study period (ρ = 0.93, p = 0.0025). Among plans with pricing data, the mean radiotherapy plan price declined from approximately 7,299 ± 1,755 USD in 2018 to 6,933 ± 1,976 USD in 2024, corresponding to an average decrease of 83 USD per plan per year (p = 0.015). Pricing for metastatic plans remained stable over time. Conclusions: Hypofractionation and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy adoption at this high-volume center reflects a sustained, evidence-based evolution in practice across multiple disease sites. This shift was accompanied by increased use of radiotherapy for metastatic disease and a reduction in average plan pricing for high-volume primary cancers, underscoring the role of hypofractionation and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in improving treatment efficiency and health- system value in resource-constrained settings.

Journal of Clinical OncologyVol. 44(16_suppl)
International Atomic Energy Agency (AT), King Hussein Cancer Center (JO), Development Initiatives (GB), Miami Heart Research Institute (US)
No poverty
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Advances in Oncology and Radiotherapy
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