| Sumario: | Background: More than 1.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Despite the different treatment options available for cancer, many individuals refuse treatment for various reasons. However, little is known about the cumulative group of individuals who refuse treatment. Objectives: Our primary objective was to use the 2017-2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to quantify the number of individuals who refuse or delay treatment by cancer type and conduct a demographic analysis of these individuals. Secondarily, we aimed to assess whether individuals who refuse or delay cancer treatment have different levels of pain compared with those who receive treatment. Population and Setting: Individuals diagnosed with cancer who were respondents to the 2017-2020 BRFSS. Secondary data analysis of 2017-2020 BRFSS. Methods and Study Design: We performed a cross-sectional study using the 2017-2020 BRFSS to analyze the prevalence of individuals who refuse or delay cancer treatment by type of cancer and sociodemographics using chi-square tests. Additionally, we used logistic regression to determine whether individuals who refused treatment were more likely to report cancer-related pain. Results: The sample included 6238 individuals, of whom 83% were White, 53% were female, and over half reported attending college or technical school. Individuals with cancer of internal organs had higher rates of cancer treatment refusal at 8.43%, compared with 4.41% with breast cancer, 5.94% with skin cancer, and 4.15% with other types of cancer. Individuals who did not graduate high school were nearly twice as likely to refuse cancer treatment than other education groups (11.57%; P<.01). Conclusion: Our investigation contributes to the literature as it brings awareness to the sociodemographic disparities in cancer treatment refusal rates, allowing future research to focus on these groups. Focused efforts on educating these groups may improve cancer screening rates and treatment awareness, thus increasing cancer survival rates.
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