Researchers used multiple logistic regression for analyses examining treatment directives to adjust for clinical and demographic covariates, including disease site, disease stage, age, race, location, education, income, use of RT (for the surgery analysis) and use of cancer directed surgery (for the RT analysis). Cancer-specific mortality analyses used the Kaplan-Meier method and adjusted for these covariates using Cox regression.

“Access to cancer care is a complex topic, and further study is necessary to determine what mix of patient, provider and disease-related factors are responsible for this disparity in mortality rates. Based on our study, expansions in Medicaid may not significantly affect outcomes for head and neck cancer patients unless we also explore and address these other underlying factors,” said Dr. Churilla.


The abstract, “The Impact of Health Insurance Status on the Presentation, Local Management, and Outcomes of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer in the United States,” will be presented in detail during a scientific session on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. Mountain time at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. To speak with Dr. Churilla, contact the ASTRO media relations team at 480-905-7935 (February 18-19 only), 703-286-1600 or press@astro.org.

The 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium is sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Head & Neck Society (AHNS). The two-and-a-half day meeting includes interactive educational sessions focused on topics such as novel multidisciplinary therapies, directed therapy, treatment guidelines, prevention, surveillance and supportive care, as well as 13 oral abstract presentations of the current science of relevance to the head and neck cancer community. A total of 262 abstracts will be presented, including 249 posters. Keynote speakers include Tanguy Seiwert, MD, of the University of Chicago, to present “Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer;” Robert I. Haddad, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to present “Personalized Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer -- The Time is Now;” Quynh-Thu Le, MD, FASTRO, of the Stanford School of Medicine, to present “Precision Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer -- From Technology to Biomarker-based Risk Stratification;” and Neil Hayes, MD, MPH, of the UNC School of Medicine, to present “Genome Atlas.

For media inquiries, please contact Liz Gardner, Media Relations Manager or Erin L. Boyle, Communication Manager.

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