Abstract
In recent years, the issue of gender bias in clinical decision making has attracted increasing attention. Evidence supporting possible discrimination on the basis of gender in the diagnosis or treatment of patients with cancer has been offered. We investigated possible gender bias in clinical decision making by analyzing the Patterns of Care Study data on palliative radiotherapy. Information on 784 patients treated in 1984–1985 for metastatic cancer causing bone pain, obstruction of a hollow viscus, or neurologic dysfunction was reviewed. There were 395 men and 389 women in the study population from 49 institutions around the country. The median dose of radiation delivered was 3,000 cGy. This was generally done in 6–10 treatments over 8–14 days. No significant difference was found between men and women in the total dose of radiation delivered or elapsed days of treatment. These data suggest that palliative radiation therapy is delivered without regard to the gender of the patient.
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