Whether a hospital has onsite radiation services may influence its use in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study. Patients undergoing surgery to treat pancreatic cancer at facilities with onsite radiation services were almost twice as likely to receive adjuvant radiotherapy, for which a benefit has not been established, as those treated at a facility without such services (42.9 percent vs. 26.1 percent), the study revealed.

In contrast, whether a hospital had onsite radiation services had no influence on its use for patients being treated for rectal cancer, for which adjuvant radiation therapy is often recommended. The rates of adjuvant radiotherapy were nearly identical in patients being treated for rectal cancer at hospitals with and without onsite radiation services (29.4 percent vs. 29.1 percent). The study was released early online January 8 by the journal Cancer.

"Our findings suggest that adjuvant radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer is either being over-utilized at hospitals with radiation facilities, or under-utilized at centers without them," wrote lead author Dr. Sandra L. Wong, from the University of Michigan Department of Surgery, and colleagues.

The researchers used NCI's SEER-Medicare registry to review records from 10,198 patients who underwent major resection for rectal or pancreatic cancer between 1992 and 1999. Radiation service availability was culled from the American Hospital Association's 2000 survey of U.S. hospitals. The researchers noted a limitation in their ability to definitively confirm the presence or absence of radiation services at 27 percent of the treating hospitals. These hospitals were excluded from the analysis.