Examination of post-radiation survey data from the navigator-assisted hypofractionation (NAVAH) phase I trial in African-American prostate cancer patients.

Abstract

e13732 Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is the leading cause of malignancy-related death in men. Per the 2024 Ohio annual cancer report, stratification of PC patients by race reveals a greater than 80% increase in mortality of African-American versus White patients. An assessment of how social determinants of health (SDOH) impact disparities in cancer-related mortality contributed to the founding of the Navigator-Assisted Hypofractionation (NAVAH) program. The NAVAH program for PC takes an innovative patient navigation approach and culturally sensitive survey aiming to better identify SDOH faced by African-American patients receiving radiation therapy (RT) treatment. This is an early report of the post-RT data during piloting of the NAVAH PC program’s innovative survey as part of a Phase I clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05978232). Methods: Patients who met criteria of having histologically diagnosed PC, African-American race, and having consented to RT with their Radiation Oncologist, were recruited for trial enrollment. Surveys were administered prior to receipt of RT and at one-month following RT completion. Post-RT survey questions were divided into sections representative of the following categories: availability (coordinating care; overall quality of care), accessibility (transportation; distance to care), affordability (financial considerations; employment; level of education), accommodation (access to internet; navigating transportation; healthcare literacy), and acceptability (comfort and prejudice among interactions with the system). Responses to each question were systematically scored and tabulated into representative scores: outstanding, excellent, good, average, below average. Results: Scores thus far reveal: good availability (37 responses), excellent accessibility (3 responses), below average affordability (6 responses), below average accommodation (18 responses), and average acceptability (9 responses). The presence of patient navigation was noted to be helpful and positively contribute to cancer care, and participation in a clinical trial was viewed positively, with comfort in clinical trial participation at the cancer center where RT was received. Conclusions: These findings support the viability of the NAVAH program survey for use in African-American PC patient population after RT completion. Scoring indicates that PC patients having completed RT positively embrace the quality and accessibility of services with neutral attitude about hospital facilities and providers, but have concerns about service cost and assistance. Continuance of this Phase I study will better elucidate SDOH faced by this patient population and the potential impact of RT receipt on these outcomes. Clinical trial information: NCT05978232 .