Travel Distance and Its Impact on Wait Time for Positron Emission Tomography–Computed Tomography in Patients with Cancers

Objectives: To examine travel distance and its impact on wait time for Positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with lung, lymphoma, and prostate cancers in Alberta. Methods: We used Alberta cancer registry and diagnostic imaging database to identify patients with lung, lymphoma, and prostate cancers who had a PET/CT scan during April 2017 and March 2023. Alberta Facilities Distance/Time Look Up Table was used to calculate travel distance from patient’s residence to PET/CT facility. Negative binomial regression was used to assess association between travel distance and wait time for PET/CT. Results: The study included 9,503 patients. Lung cancer accounted for 43.4% of patients, followed by lymphoma (37.1%) and prostate (19.5%) cancers. There were more female patients with lung (55.5%) than lymphoma (42.9%; p< 0.001) cancers. Mean (SD) age was 66.8 (13.8) years and lymphoma patients were younger (59.6 years) than lung (70.3 years; p< 0.001) or prostate (72.7 years; p< 0.001) patients. Diabetes (14.2%) was the most prevalent comorbidity. Median (IQR) travel distance was 21 (12-121) km and was shorter for urban (16 km) than rural (148 km; p< 0.001) patients, but wait time was similar (median=20 vs. 21 days; p=0.378). There were no significant associations between travel distance and wait time (IRR=1.00; p=0.108). The results were robust in subgroup analyses by type of cancer and scan priority. Conclusion: There were no associations between travel distance and wait time for PET/CT. Additional research is warranted to examine the potential impact of longer travel distance on overall access to care and patient outcomes.