BACKGROUND: Palliative radiotherapy (PRT) can significantly improve quality of life for @entity1 dying of @entity5 with bone @entity3 . However, an aggressive @entity5 treatment near end of life is an indicator of poor-quality care. But the optimal rate of overall palliative @entity1161 use near the end of life is still unknown. We sought to determine the patterns of palliative @entity1161 ( @entity1161 ) utilization in @entity1 with bone @entity3 towards their end of life in a population-based, publicly funded health care system. METHODS: All consecutive @entity1 with bone @entity3 treated with @entity1161 between 2007 and 2011 were identified in a provincial Canadian @entity5 registry database. @entity1 were categorized as receiving @entity1161 in the last 2  weeks, 2-4 weeks, or >4  weeks before their @entity204 . Associations between @entity1161 fractionation utilization by these categories, and @entity1 and provider characteristics were assessed through logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the 16,898 courses 1734 (10.3) and 709 (4.2  %) were prescribed to @entity1 in the last 2-4 weeks and <2  weeks of their life, respectively. Primary lung (8  %) and gastrointestinal (6.9  %) @entity5 received palliative @entity1161 more commonly in the last 2  weeks of life (OR 3.72 [2.86-4.84] _ 3.33 [2.42-4.58] respectively, p <0.001). Among the 709 @entity1 who received @entity1161 in the last 2  weeks of life, 350 (49), 167 (24), and 127 (18  %) were for spine, pelvis, and extremity @entity3 , respectively. @entity1161 was prescribed most frequently to spine (5  %) and extremity (4  %) @entity3 p <0.001 in the last two weeks of life, though only varied between 1  % (sternum) and 5  % (spine) by site of @entity3 . Single fraction @entity1161 was prescribed more commonly in the last 2  weeks of life (64.2  %), compared to individuals who received @entity1161 2-4 weeks (54.5), and >4  weeks (47.9  %) before @entity204 (p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This population-based analysis found that only 4  % of @entity1 with bone @entity3 received @entity1161 during the last 2  weeks of their life in our population-based, publicly funded program, though it was significantly higher in @entity1 with @entity2 and those with @entity3 to the spine or extremity. Appropriately, use of multiple fractions palliative @entity1161 was less common in @entity1 closer to @entity204 .

Utilization of palliative radiotherapy for bone XXXX near end of life in a population-based cohort.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'patient'] @entity1161 :: ('MESH:D011832', 'Disease') :: ['radiation therapy', 'RT'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['cancers', 'cancer'] @entity2 :: ('MESH:D008175', 'Disease') :: ['lung cancer'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases'] @entity204 :: ('MESH:D003643', 'Disease') :: ['death']
@entity3 :: (MESH:D009362,Disease) :: ['metastases']
