TY - JOUR
T1 - Racial disparities in oropharyngeal cancer survival
AU - Megwalu, Uchechukwu C.
AU - Ma, Yifei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - Background Oropharyngeal cancer is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Several studies have revealed racial disparities in head and neck cancer outcomes. The goal of our study was to evaluate the impact of race on survival in patients with oropharyngeal cancer, using a large population-based cancer database. Materials and methods This was a retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 Database of the National Cancer Institute. The study cohort included patients diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma between 2004 and 2012. The outcomes of interest were overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Results After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, tumor site, and year of diagnosis, black race was associated with worse OS (HR 1.67, p < 0.0001) and DSS (HR 1.67, p < 0.0001). Conclusion Black race is associated with worse survival in patients with oropharyngeal cancer. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism by which race impacts survival in oropharyngeal cancer. This may reveal potential areas of opportunity for public health interventions aimed at addressing disparities in cancer outcomes.
AB - Background Oropharyngeal cancer is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Several studies have revealed racial disparities in head and neck cancer outcomes. The goal of our study was to evaluate the impact of race on survival in patients with oropharyngeal cancer, using a large population-based cancer database. Materials and methods This was a retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 Database of the National Cancer Institute. The study cohort included patients diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma between 2004 and 2012. The outcomes of interest were overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Results After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, tumor site, and year of diagnosis, black race was associated with worse OS (HR 1.67, p < 0.0001) and DSS (HR 1.67, p < 0.0001). Conclusion Black race is associated with worse survival in patients with oropharyngeal cancer. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism by which race impacts survival in oropharyngeal cancer. This may reveal potential areas of opportunity for public health interventions aimed at addressing disparities in cancer outcomes.
KW - Head and neck cancer
KW - Health status disparities
KW - Minority health
KW - Oropharynx cancer
KW - Social determinants of health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006940199&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2016.12.015
DO - 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2016.12.015
M3 - Article
C2 - 28109465
AN - SCOPUS:85006940199
SN - 1368-8375
VL - 65
SP - 33
EP - 37
JO - Oral Oncology
JF - Oral Oncology
ER -