The Impact of Hospital Safety-Net Burden Status on Patients with HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare treatment characteristics and outcomes between patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) treated at hospitals of varying safety-net burden status. Methods: Patients with cT1-4, N0-3, M0 HPV-positive OPSCC who underwent definitive surgery or radiation were included. Patients were grouped based on their treating hospital safety-net burden status, defined as the percentage of uninsured and Medicaid-insured patients with OPSCC treated at the facility and stratified as low burden (LBH: 0–25th percentile), medium burden (MBH: 25th–75th percentile), or high burden (HBH: 75th–100th percentile). The primary outcome was primary treatment with surgery versus radiation, evaluated with multivariable-adjusted logistic regression. Secondary outcomes included TORS versus open surgical approach, and overall survival evaluated with Cox proportional hazards analysis. Results: Of the 19,810 patients with cT1-4, N0-3, M0 HPV-positive OPSCC included in this study, 4921 (24.8%) were treated at LBH, 12,201 (61.6%) were treated at MBH, and 2688 (13.6%) were treated at HBH. In multivariable-adjusted analysis, compared with treatment at LBH, treatment at HBH was associated with more frequent radiation over surgical treatment (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.12–1.40, p < 0.001). For patients undergoing surgery, patients at HBH had less frequent transoral robotic surgery (OR: 0.30, 95% CI 0.24–0.38, p < 0.001) compared with patients treated at LBH. Overall survival of patients treated at HBH was worse than that of patients treated at LBH (HR: 1.27, 95% CI 1.13–1.43, p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings highlight underlying disparities at higher safety-net burden facilities that impact patterns of care and outcomes for patients with OPSCC. Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 134:1733–1740, 2024.