Index

Show indicators by:

  • Cancer Control Domain
  • Disease Site
  • Dashboard
  • Disease Site
    • Breast
      • Breast cancer screening
      • Screening in underserved populations
      • Breast cancer diagnosis wait time
      • Capture of stage
      • Stage distribution
      • Surgery
        • Breast cancer resections that are mastectomies
        • The use of breast-conserving surgery versus mastectomies for breast cancer resections
      • Radiation therapy
        • Post-operative radiation therapy for stage I or II breast cancer patients
      • Place of death
      • Adult clinical trial participation
      • Cancer research investment
      • Breast cancer screening outside recommended guidelines
      • Incidence and mortality rates
      • Five-year net survival by income quintile for several cancers in Canada
    • Colorectal
      • Colorectal cancer screening
      • Geographic variation in colorectal cancer risk
      • Screening in underserved populations
      • Colorectal cancer diagnosis wait time
      • Capture of stage
      • Stage distribution
      • Surgery
        • Removal and examination of 12 or more lymph nodes in colon resections
        • Resection rates for stage II or III rectal cancer, stage III colon cancer and stage II or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients
      • Radiation therapy
        • Pre-operative radiation therapy for patients with stage II or III rectal cancer
      • Post-operative chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer patients
      • Place of death
      • Adult clinical trial participation
      • Cancer research investment
      • Incidence and mortality rates
      • Five-year net survival by income quintile for several cancers in Canada
    • Lung
      • Capture of stage
      • Stage distribution
      • Geographic variation in lung cancer risk
      • Resection rates for stage II or IIIA Non-snmall cell lung cancer patients
      • Post-operative chemotherapy for stage II or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients
      • Place of death
      • Adult clinical trial participation
      • Cancer research investment
      • Incidence and mortality rates
      • Five-year net survival by income quintile for several cancers in Canada
    • Prostate
      • PSA testing
      • Prostate risk profile
      • Capture of stage
      • Stage distribution
      • Prostate wait times for surgery
      • Prostate wait times for radiation therapy
      • Radical prostatectomy: open versus laparoscopic surgery
      • Prostate patterns of care: radiation and surgical treatment
      • Prostate access to palliative radiation
      • Prostate clinical trials participation
      • Adult clinical trial participation
      • Prostate cancer research investment
      • Cancer research investment
      • Incidence & Mortality Rates
      • Five-year net survival by income quintile for several cancers in Canada
    • Cervical
      • Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination
      • Cervical cancer screening
      • Screening in underserved populations
    • Pancreas
      • Incidence and mortality rates
    • Stage Distribution
  • Province & Territory
  • 1. Prevention
  • 2. Screening
  • 3. Diagnosis
  • 4. Treatment
  • 5. Person-Centred Perspective
  • 6. Research
  • 7. Appropriateness
  • 8. Long-term outcomes
  • Smoking prevalence
  • Smoking behaviours in current cancer patients
  • Smoking cessation
  • Second-hand smoke exposure
  • Geographic variation in lung cancer risk
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Adult overweight and obesity
  • Active transportation
  • Physical inactivity
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination
  • Fruit and vegetable consumption
  • Geographic variation in colorectal cancer risk
  • Cervical cancer screening
  • Breast cancer screening
  • Colorectal cancer screening
  • PSA testing
  • Screening in underserved populations
  • Breast cancer diagnosis wait times
  • Colorectal cancer diagnosis wait times
  • Capture of stage
  • Stage distribution
  • Prostate risk profile
  • Surgery
  • Radiation therapy
  • Systemic therapy
  • Removal and examination of 12 or more lymph nodes in colon resections
  • Resection rates for stage II or III rectal cancer, stage III colon cancer and stage II or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients
  • The use of breast-conserving surgery versus mastectomies for breast cancer resections
  • Breast cancer resections that are mastectomies
  • High-risk, resource-intensive surgeries for esophageal, pancreatic, liver, lung and ovarian cancers in Canada
  • Prostate wait times for surgery
  • Radical prostatectomy: open versus laparoscopic surgery
  • Radiation therapy wait times
  • Radiation therapy utilization and capacity
  • Pre-operative radiation therapy for patients with stage II or III rectal cancer
  • Post-operative radiation therapy for patients with stage I or II breast cancer
  • Prostate wait times for radiation therapy
  • Prostate patterns of care: radiation and surgical treatment
  • Post-operative chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer patients
  • Post-operative chemotherapy for patients with stage II or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer
  • Screening for distress
  • Patient satisfaction
  • Place of death
  • Prostate access to palliative radiation
  • Adult clinical trial participation
  • Prostate clinical trials participation
  • Pediatric clinical trial participation
  • Cancer research investment
  • Prostate cancer research investment
  • Breast cancer screening outside of guidelines
  • Breast cancer mastectomies done as day surgery
  • Intensive care use in the last two weeks of life
  • Breast cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Five-year net survival by income quintile for several cancers in Canada
System Performance Logo
System Performance
  • About
  • Reports
  • Français
  • Home
  • Cancer control domain
  • 4. Treatment
  • Radiation therapy
  • Radiation therapy wait times

Radiation therapy wait times

  • Charts and Tables

    Charts and Tables

    Figure 4.10

    Median and 90th percentile wait times for radiation therapy, all cancers, by province — 2014 treatment year

    • Download & Export

      Figure

      •  

      Data Table

      • CSV
      • Excel
      • Json
      • XML

    "–" Data not available.

    BC, AB: Brachytherapy was not included for 2014 treatment year but was included in the previous submissions.

    ON: Data include the percent of patients treated with radiation therapy within 14 days (CARO target) from February – December 2014.

    The CARO target is that 90% of patients receive radiation therapy within 14 days of being ready to treat.

    The Canadian Institute for Health Information defines ready-to-treat as the time when the referring physician makes the referral to start radiation therapy. Considerable effort has gone into developing and adopting standardized definitions for this term, but interprovincial variations may persist.

    Data source: Provincial cancer agencies.

    Data Table

    ProvinceMedian of wait time90th percentile of wait timeNumber of casesPercent below the target (%)Lower bound of 95% confidence intervalUpper bound of 95% confidence interval
    BC82211,13195.995.596.2
    AB7227,16496.696.297.0
    SK––––––
    MB7222,46099.999.7100.0
    ON–––90.0-–
    QC–––99.0-–
    NB7191,75697.096.297.8
    NS––––––
    PE142745092.289.894.6
    NL6201,37598.698.099.2

    + Expand Table

    "–" Data not available.

    BC, AB: Brachytherapy was not included for 2014 treatment year but was included in the previous submissions.

    ON: Data include the percent of patients treated with radiation therapy within 14 days (CARO target) from February – December 2014.

    The CARO target is that 90% of patients receive radiation therapy within 14 days of being ready to treat.

    The Canadian Institute for Health Information defines ready-to-treat as the time when the referring physician makes the referral to start radiation therapy. Considerable effort has gone into developing and adopting standardized definitions for this term, but interprovincial variations may persist.

    Data source: Provincial cancer agencies.

    Figure 4.11

    90th percentile wait times for radiation therapy, by disease site and by province — 2014 treatment year

    • Download & Export

      Figure

      •  

      Data Table

      • CSV
      • Excel
      • Json
      • XML

    “—” Data not available.

    AB: Brachytherapy was not included for the 2014 treatment year but was included in previous years.

    The current national target is that 90% of patients receive radiation therapy within 28 days of being ready to treat.

    The CARO target is that 90% of patients receive radiation therapy within 14 days of being ready to treat.

    The Canadian Institute for Health Information defines ready-to-treat as the time when the referring physician makes the referral to start radiation therapy. Considerable effort has gone into developing and adopting standardized definitions for this term, but interprovincial variations may persist.

    Data source: Provincial cancer agencies.

    Data Table

    ProvinceDisease siteWait time (Days)Number of casesPercent below the target (%)Lower bound of 95% confidence intervalUpper bound of 95% confidence interval
    BCAll cancers2211,13195.995.596.2
    BCLung192,14697.997.498.5
    BCProstate261,34492.991.694.3
    BCColorectal2170897.396.198.4
    BCBreast212,82896.595.897.1
    ABAll cancers227,16496.696.297.0
    ABLung211,32697.396.498.1
    ABProstate2472694.292.595.8
    ABColorectal2444697.696.299.0
    ABBreast231,86696.495.697.3
    SKAll cancers–––––
    SKLung–––––
    SKProstate–––––
    SKColorectal–––––
    SKBreast–––––
    MBAll cancers222,46099.999.7100.0
    MBLung2332199.799.1100.0
    MBProstate2822599.698.7100.0
    MBColorectal21151100.0100.0100.0
    MBBreast22560100.0100.0100.0
    ONAll cancers–––––
    ONLung–––––
    ONProstate–––––
    ONColorectal–––––
    ONBreast–––––
    QCAll cancers–––––
    QCLung–––––
    QCProstate–––––
    QCColorectal–––––
    QCBreast–––––
    NBAll cancers191,75697.096.297.8
    NBLung1240598.597.499.7
    NBProstate3020588.784.792.8
    NBColorectal2110299.097.1100.0
    NBBreast1846696.995.398.4
    NSAll cancers–––––
    NSLung2648392.590.394.8
    NSProstate–––––
    NSColorectal2816991.487.395.4
    NSBreast–––––
    PEAll cancers2745092.289.894.6
    PELung–––––
    PEProstate–––––
    PEColorectal–––––
    PEBreast–––––
    NLAll cancers201,37598.698.099.2
    NLLung1825899.698.9100.0
    NLProstate2813992.788.596.8
    NLColorectal1410399.097.2100.0
    NLBreast2121898.296.499.9

    + Expand Table

    “—” Data not available.

    AB: Brachytherapy was not included for the 2014 treatment year but was included in previous years.

    The current national target is that 90% of patients receive radiation therapy within 28 days of being ready to treat.

    The CARO target is that 90% of patients receive radiation therapy within 14 days of being ready to treat.

    The Canadian Institute for Health Information defines ready-to-treat as the time when the referring physician makes the referral to start radiation therapy. Considerable effort has gone into developing and adopting standardized definitions for this term, but interprovincial variations may persist.

    Data source: Provincial cancer agencies.

  • Data specifications

    Data specifications

    Definition:

    1. The median and 90th percentile radiation therapy wait time (days) from ready-to-treat to start of radiation for patients treated for all types of cancer and for the four most common cancers.
    2. The percentage of radiation therapy cases for which the above wait time was within target timeframes

    Population: All cancer patients receiving radiation therapy in 2014 who have wait time data collected as consistent with the specifications of this indicator.

    Data source: Provincial cancer agencies

    Measurement timeframe: 2014 treatment year

    Stratification variables: Province, disease site (all cancers, breast, colorectal, lung, prostate)

    Provinces submitting data: BC, AB, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL

    Province specific notes:

    • BC: Brachytherapy was not included.
    • AB: data include all cases who had radiation therapy at a Cancer Control Alberta Facility with their first treatment between January 2, 2014 – December 31, 2014; it includes those who were living in another province at time of diagnosis but receiving radiation therapy in Alberta. Tumor group classification for this indicator is based on referral tumor groups. Brachytherapy was not included.
    • ON: Only provided the percentage of radiation therapy cases for which the wait time was within target < 14 days from February to December 2014. QC: Only provided the percentage of radiation therapy cases for which the wait time was within target timeframes.
    • NS: Patients with more than one treated disease may have contributed to more than one wait time. Procedures around specifying ready-to-treat date have not accurately captured the relevant date for prostate and breast patients, so the wait times for these two cancers are not reported.
    • PE: Could not provide site-specific wait times.

    Provincial definitions of “Ready to Treat”:

    • BC: The date at which both oncologist and patient agree that treatment can commence. Being ready to treat requires that all diagnostic tests and procedures required to assess the appropriateness of, indications for, and fitness to undergo radiation therapy are complete.
    • AB: The date when the patient is physically ready to commence treatment.
    • SK: The date when the patient is ready to receive treatment, taking into account clinical factors and patient preference. In the case of radiation therapy, any preparatory activities (e.g., simulation, treatment planning, dental work) do not delay the ready to treat date.
    • MB: The date when a decision has been made by the radiation oncologist and is agreed to by the patient that radiation therapy is appropriate and should commence AND the patient is medically ready to start treatment AND the patient is willing to start treatment.
    • ON: The time from when the specialist is confident that the patient is ready to begin treatment to the time the patient receives treatment.
    • QC: At consultation, the radiation oncologist enters the date at which the patient will be ready to treat on a formulary requesting treatment.
    • NB: The date when any planned delay is over and the patient is ready to begin treatment from both a social/personal and medical perspective.
    • NS: The date when all pre-treatment investigations and any planned delay are over, and the patient is ready to begin the treatment process from both asocial/personal and medical perspective. Nova Scotia did not have a ready to treat date until February 2010; a proxy date was used prior to this time.
    • PE: The date when all pre-treatment investigations and any planned delay are over, and the patient is ready to begin the treatment process from both a social/personal and medical perspective.
    • NL: The date when all pre-treatment investigations and any planned delay are over, and the patient is ready to begin the treatment process from both a social/ personal and medical perspective.

    Notes:

    1. All behavior codes are included.
    2. To identify breast, colorectal, lung, prostate cancer and all cancers, provinces included the morphology codes that are used within their registry.
    3. Only cases with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) done in 2014 are included.
    4. Of note for breast cancer data, if the province obtains this data from a wait time database as opposed to a registry, then breast cancer cases were to be included per the database definition.
    5. There are known discrepancies in the ways in which different provinces measure wait times. One of the key sources of variation is the way the “ready-to-treat” timeframe is defined. Efforts are underway to standardize these definitions. The following section outlines the definitions used by the different provinces.
  • Related indicators

    Related Indicators

    Radiation therapy utilization and capacity

    Number of linear accelerators per million people, by province – 2012 reporting year
    View this indicator
    Post-operative radiation therapy for patients with stage I or II breast cancer

    Percentage of Stage I or II breast cancer patients receiving radiation following breast-conserving surgery, by age group — from 2009 to 2012 diagnosis years
    View this indicator
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Media centre
  • Share your feedback
  • About our new site

  • Français Language toggle.

Other related sites:

  • Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health
  • Canadian Cancer Research Alliance
  • Canadian Cancer Trials
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • linkedin
    CPAC Logo

    Questions about cancer?

    For information about cancer treatment and support for patients, please contact the Canadian Cancer Society at 1-888-939-3333 or by completing this online form.

  • AODA compliance
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • FAQ
  • Site map
  • About this site
© Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Corporation