Clinical outcomes of patient migration in locally advanced rectal cancer from community cancer centers: An analysis of the National Cancer Database.

81 Background: With cancer care changing at a rapid pace, patients are becoming increasingly involved with their management and oftentimes migrating to a different facility to seek better care. Our study evaluated the characteristics of such patients who were initially diagnosed at a community cancer center (CCC) and how this affects clinical outcomes. Methods: The National Cancer Database identified 11,977 patients with stage II/III rectal cancer initially diagnosed at a CCC between 2005 and 2015. Clinical characteristics and outcomes between patients who received all of their treatments at the CCC versus those who received part or all of their treatments elsewhere were compared using rank-sum and X2 tests where appropriate. Cox model was used for survival analysis. Results: Of the total population, 51% were stage II and 49% were stage III. Gender and ethnic distributions were similar between the groups. Approximately 44 % of patients received all their treatment at the CCC and 56% had part or all of their care elsewhere. Patients who migrated were younger (63 vs 65 years, p<0.001) and had govt insurance (43.5 vs 35.8%, p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, age <65 years (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.24), govt insurance (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06-1.29), Charlson/Deyo comorbid score <2 (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.11-1.49), higher income (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.16-1.27) and Stage III (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.07-1.24) were associated with higher probability of migration. The treatment characteristics and outcomes are shown in Table. The 5y-OS rate was better in patients who received part or all of their treatment at other institutions (adjusted HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.74-0.86, p<0.001). Conclusions: Further studies are needed to provide direction for future strategies to reduce the apparent survival disparities in patients who migrate from CCC. [Table: see text]