Background: We investigated whether the socioeconomic status (SES) influenced survival rates in oropharynx cancers (OPC), oral cavity cancers (OCC), and larynx cancers (LC) in Brazilian patients.
Methods: This hospital-based cohort study assessed the age-standardized 5-year relative survival (RS) using the Pohar Perme estimator.
Results: Overall, we identified 37 191 cases, and 5-year RS were 24.4%, 34.1%, and 44.9% in OPC, OCC, and LC, respectively. In multiple Cox regression, the highest risk of death occurred in the most vulnerable social strata for all subsites-that is, illiterates or patients relying on publicly funded healthcare services. Disparities increased over time by 34.9% in OPC due to the rising of survival rates in the highest SES, whereas they reduced by 10.2% and 29.6% in OCC and LC.
Conclusions: The potential inequities were more significant for OPC than for OCC and LC. It is urgent to tackle social disparities to improve prognoses in highly unequal countries.
Keywords: head and neck cancer; healthcare disparities; mortality; oropharnyx cancer; social inequalities; survival.
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