Statistics in MedicineVolume 3, Issue 4 p. 353-357 Article The patterns of care study in clinical radiation therapy—a retrospective assessment of quality of care Simon Kramer, Simon Kramer Department of Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorJames J. Diamond, James J. Diamond American College of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author Simon Kramer, Simon Kramer Department of Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this authorJames J. Diamond, James J. Diamond American College of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA 19107, U.S.A.Search for more papers by this author First published: October/December 1984 https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.4780030411Citations: 4AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL References 1 Donabedian, A. ‘Evaluating the quality of medical care’, Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 44, 166– 206 (1966). 2 Kinzie, J. J., Hanks, G. E., Maclean, C. J. and Kramer, S. ‘Patterns of Care Study: Hodgkin's disease relapse rates and adequacy of portals’, Cancer, 52, 2223– 2226 (1983). 3 Hanks, G. E., Kinzie, J. J., Herring, D. F. and Kramer, S. ‘Patterns of Care Studies in Hodgkin's disease: results of the national practice and implications for management’, Cancer Treatment Reports, 66, 805– 808 (1982). 4 Kramer, S. ‘An overview of process and outcome data in the Patterns of Care Study’, International Journal of Radiation Oncology. Biology-Physics, 7, 795– 800 (1981). Citing Literature Volume3, Issue4October/December 1984Pages 353-357 ReferencesRelatedInformation

A group of 72 patients who had received radiotherapy between 1972 and 1980 for isolated local-regional recurrence of breast cancer was studied; 38 had received adjuvant chemotherapy and 34 had not. The two groups were comparable except for the initial nodal status and median time from mastectomy to recurrence. Outcome was not significantly different for the two groups in terms of response to radiotherapy, incidence of re-recurrence, distant metastases, and three-year survival. The length of the disease-free interval and the response to radiotherapy were the only factors studied that were significantly related to survival.