Disparities in Time to Treatment for Skin Cancer

Abstract

Background/aim: Skin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. This study aimed to identify factors contributing to the disparities in skin cancer treatment.

Patients and methods: Data from The National Cancer Database (NCDB) spanning 2004 to 2019 were utilized. Variables including age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, Charlson-Deyo Comorbidity (CDC) score, geographic location, insurance status, income, grade and stage of cancer, and type of treatment facility impacting the time to treatment, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy were analyzed.

Results: Trends of longer time to treatment were seen with older age, non-Hispanic white, uninsured, those with a higher CDC score, and treated at academic facilities. Additionally, annual income and clinicopathology of cancer were also significantly associated with time to treatment.

Conclusion: Our findings contribute to the expanding body of evidence pointing to the influence of socioeconomic and demographic factors in treatment disparities across diverse patient populations.

Keywords: Skin cancer; disparity; treatment.