Factors associated with adjuvant treatment delays in patients treated surgically for head and neck cancer

Alan L Sticker; Sydney T Cannon; Gregory B Russell; Joshua D Waltonen

doi:10.1111/coa.14164

Factors associated with adjuvant treatment delays in patients treated surgically for head and neck cancer

Clin Otolaryngol. 2024 Apr 12. doi: 10.1111/coa.14164. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Alan L Sticker¹, Sydney T Cannon², Gregory B Russell³, Joshua D Waltonen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology, Ochsner Health, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
² Department of Otolaryngology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
³ Department of Biostatistics and Data Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

PMID: 38610122
DOI: 10.1111/coa.14164

Abstract

Objective: To determine the patient and treatment characteristics associated with delay in post-operative radiation therapy (PORT) for patients treated surgically for head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) at our institution.

Design: Single institution retrospective review.

Setting: Tertiary care academic medical centre.

Participants: Patients treated surgically for HNSCC who underwent PORT between 2013 and 2016.

Main outcome measures and results: One hundred forty patients met inclusion criteria. A majority did not start radiotherapy within 6 weeks. Factors associated with a delayed initiation of PORT included length of stay >8 days, 30-day readmission, no adjuvant chemotherapy, post-operative complications and fragmented care.

Conclusions: A majority of patients did not initiate PORT within the guideline-recommended 6 weeks. Modifiable risks factors that delay initiation of PORT were identified.

Keywords: adherence to guidelines; adjuvant therapy delays; fragmented care; head and neck cancer; postoperative radiation therapy.