Impact of socioeconomic status on the diagnosis to treatment interval in Waldeyer's ring carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the impact of socioeconomic status on the diagnosis to treatment interval in Waldeyer's ring cancers by comparing the experience of a public hospital and an academic tertiary care medical center.


METHODS
Retrospective review.


METHODS
Otolaryngology clinic of a public hospital and an academic medical center.


METHODS
One hundred seven patients with Waldeyer's ring carcinoma who were diagnosed and treated at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) or at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSFMC) from January 1995 through December 2000 were included in the study. The same departments of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and radiation oncology staff both hospitals. All radiation therapy was provided at UCSFMC. Patients included in the study had a histologic diagnosis of Waldeyer's ring carcinoma, primary treatment with radiation, and no prior treatment of Waldeyer's ring carcinoma.


METHODS
The time of diagnosis to start of radiation therapy, dose of radiation, number of treatment days, duration of treatment, and 1 and 3 year survival were recorded. Differences between the two groups were analyzed using Student's t test.


RESULTS
The time course from diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma to start of radiation therapy was 56 days at SFGH compared with 34 days at UCSFMC. This difference was statistically significant (P = .0001). Difference in diagnosis to treatment intervals for base of tongue cancer was also significant at 66 days at SFGH compared with 31 days at UCSFMC (P = .0038). For cancer of the tonsil, the diagnosis to treatment interval was 70 days at SFGH versus 40 days at UCSFMC (P = .0005). Dose of radiation, number of days of treatment, and duration of treatment were not statistically different. Only patients with cancer of the tonsil demonstrated a statistically significant difference in 3 year survival (P = .0175).


CONCLUSIONS
Although radiation therapy delivery appears similar between the public and tertiary care medical centers, there appears to be a statistically significant delay in the initiation of therapy for patients at the public institution. It is possible that this influences 3 year survival in cancer of the tonsil.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.
Karsten
K
Munck
Mir Jafer
MJ
Ali
Andrew H
AH
Murr
Andrew N
AN
Goldberg
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D001706:Biopsy; D002140:California; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D014067:Tonsillar Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*