Retrospective cohort study of association of travel time to treating facility with mortality among men with prostate cancer

A retrospective cohort study including 159,943 men (aged 40 to 99 years) with prostate cancer in 7 US states evaluated the association between estimated travel time from patients’ residence to treatment facilities and all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality. Patients were diagnosed between 2000 and 2015 and were followed through 2017. Patients with travel times of 30 minutes or longer had significantly lower mortality rates compared with those with travel times of less than 30 minutes. There was 9% lower all-cause mortality and 10% lower prostate cancer-specific mortality among patients with longer travel times compared with shorter travel times. The authors conclude that the observed survival advantage with longer travel time may reflect centralization benefits, though ensuring equitable health care access for all patients remains an important consideration.