Factors that Influence Chemotherapy Treatment Rate in Patients With Upper Limb Osteosarcoma

Background/aim: Chemotherapy is the mainstay treatment of osteosarcoma. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the factors that affect the rate of chemotherapy treatment of osteosarcoma patients.

Materials and methods: We queried the National Cancer Database for bone cancer patients. We included patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the upper extremities regardless of age and sex. With bivariate and multivariate models, we analyzed the demographic, facility, and tumor-specific characteristics, comparing the group that received chemotherapy with those that did not.

Results: Female patients (OR=0.567; 95%CI=0.337-0.955), non-White patients (OR=0.485; 95%CI=0.25-0.939), and patients with government insurance (OR=0.506; 95%CI=0.285-0.9) had lower odds of receiving chemotherapy treatment than male, white, and privately insured patients. Patients with stages II (OR=4.817; 95%CI=2.594-8.946) and IV disease (OR=0.457; 95%CI=1.931-10.286) had higher odds of receiving chemotherapy than those with stage I disease.

Conclusion: Age, sex, race and insurance affected the rate of chemotherapy treatment in patients with upper limb osteosarcoma.