The impact of distance traveled and rurality on the clinical course of head and neck cancer

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between distance traveled and rurality to clinical timepoints and 2‐year disease free survival (DFS) in newly diagnosed HNC patients. METHODS: This study was conducted through retrospective analysis, with key independent variables including distance to academic medical center and rurality score. To better understand delays in care, the sample was divided into two groups based on an optimal treatment timeline. We then assessed for the impact of distance traveled. RESULTS: A higher proportion of patients in the optimal treatment timeline group resided in metropolitan areas, which also had a lower mean index of medically underserviced score. Patients in this group had a shorter duration from first presentation for HNC to presentation to an academic medical center and a shorter duration from referral to presentation. However, there was no significant difference in 2‐year DFS between the groups. Those who lived closest to Upstate were more likely to identify as Black. Those who live in suburban communities around Upstate were most likely to initiate treatment within 1 month of presentation. Those who live farthest from Upstate were the least likely to have an HPV‐negative cancer of the head and neck, and more likely to receive surgery as part of treatment and to receive a biopsy prior to presenting to Upstate. CONCLUSIONS: Despite differences in distance traveled and rurality between communities, there was no impact on 2‐year DFS. Together, we suggest that these findings support that socioeconomic and patient factors, instead of travel distance alone, impact HNC workup patterns. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.