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Program Number: B345
Session Name: Poster Session

Epidemiology and Survivorship of Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Hispanic versus Non-Hispanic Patients

Melis Bayrak, BA; Rachel Giese, MD; UTHSCSA

Objective: Survival outcomes and patient presentation of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) in Hispanic patients has not been well examined in current literature. This study aims to examine the risk factors, presentation of disease, and treatment modalities between non-Hispanic and Hispanic patients and to understand their contribution to survival outcomes.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study

Subjects and Methods: In accordance with the Institutional Review Board approval, Epic SlicerDicer was used to identify 424 subjects with cancer of the oral cavity from 2003 to 2024. Of those subjects, 272 met inclusion criteria for OCSCC and underwent retrospective chart review and statistical analysis.

Results: The cohort of 272 subjects consisted of 59.56% (162) non-Hispanic and 40.44% (110) Hispanic patients. 8 Asian and 10 Black patients were included in non-Hispanics. The 1-year overall survival (OS) between non-Hispanic and Hispanic patients was not statistically significant, but the 3-year OS (non-Hispanic OS 83.33% vs. Hispanic OS 62.73%) and 5-year OS (non-Hispanic OS 79.01% vs Hispanic OS 60.00%) were found to be statistically significant (p < .005 and p= .005, respectively). Kaplan-Meier 5-year survival plot of non-Hispanic versus Hispanic patients showed a statistically significant difference between the survival distributions with a logrank p < .005. When Kaplan-Meier plots were furthered divided by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging, there was no statistical difference in survival distributions by logrank test between non-Hispanic and Hispanic patients of the same stage. Further, there was no statistical difference between non-Hispanic and Hispanic patients in terms of age at presentation, sex, smoking status, primary tumor site, primary treatment modality, or time from diagnosis to initiation of treatment.

Conclusion and Relevance: The poorer overall survival rate of Hispanics as compared to non-Hispanics was not found to be attributable to any risk factors examined in this study, including common risk factors, AJCC staging, treatment modalities, or the time interval between diagnosis to treatment initiation. This raises questions about the contribution of factors not captured in this study, such as social determinants of health or other comorbidities. The local county life expectancy is 79.6 years for Hispanics and 79 years for non-Hispanic Whites, suggesting that the survival disparities may be unique to our patient population rather than reflective of broader demographic trends. Knowledge about the discrepancy in survival rate for our local patient population can help guide better follow-up, counseling, and targeted intervention for our local Hispanic patient population, potentially improving both patient outcomes and health equity.

 

 

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