H&N cancer may be undertreated in women

June 6, 2018|Oncology Practice

REPORTING FROM ASCO 2018

“We don’t know why those differences exist, but it’s really important that we continue this research, that we continue to figure out what those differences are and why they are happening so that we can make sure as we’re talking to patients with head and neck cancer, that we are providing the right treatment for the right patient at the right time, and that everybody has the appropriate access to outstanding clinical care for head and neck cancer,” Dr. Jones said.

Dr. Katzel and his colleagues used the Kaiser Permanente Northern California registry to identify patients with stage II to IVB head and neck cancer diagnosed during 2000-2015.

Analyses were based on 223 women and 661 men, relative numbers that are not surprising given the known demographics of this cancer. Oropharyngeal tumors accounted for 38% of the cancers in the former, but 55% in the latter. (HPV status was not directly ascertained.)

The rate of receipt of intensive chemotherapy was 35% for women and 46% for men (adjusted odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48-0.98; P = .006). Similarly, the rate of receipt of radiation therapy was 60% for women and 70% for men (AOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.56-1.11; P = .008). Receipt of surgery was similar for the sexes.