Association Between Social Determinants of Health, Distance from Treatment Center, and Treatment Type with Outcomes in Human Papillomavirus Associated Oropharyngeal cancer

• Published in: Oral oncology 2024-02, Vol.149, p.106675-106675, Article 106675
• Main Authors: Aden, Aisha A, Olawuni, Felicia O, Abdel-Halim, Chadi N, Zhu, Agnes Q, Haller, Travis J, O'Byrne, Thomas J, Moore, Eric J, Price, Daniel L, Tasche, Kendall L, Ma, Daniel J, Lester, Scott C, Gamez, Mauricio, Neben-Wittich, Michelle A, Price, Katharine, Fuentes-Bayne, Harry E, Routman, David, Van Abel, Kathryn M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1368-8375; 1879-0593
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2023.106675

Social determinants of health (SDOH) can influence access to cancer care, clinical trials, and oncologic outcomes. We investigated the association between SDOH, distance from treatment center, and treatment type with outcomes in human papillomavirus associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma [HPV(+)OPSCC] patients treated at a tertiary care center. Retrospective review. HPV(+)OPSCC patients treated surgically from 2006 to 2021 were selected from our departmental Oropharyngeal Cancer RedCap database. Demographic data, treatment, and oncologic outcomes were extracted. Distance was calculated in miles between the centroid of each patient zip code and our hospital zip code (zipdistance). 874 patients (89 % male; mean age: 58 years) were identified. Most patients (96 %) reported Non-Hispanic White as their primary race. 204 patients (23 %) had a high-school degree or less, 217 patients (25 %) reported some college education or a 2-year degree, 153 patients (18 %) completed a four-year college degree, and 155 patients (18 %) had post-graduate degrees. Relative to those with a high-school degree, patients with higher levels of education were more likely to live further away from our institution (p