Disparities in pediatric parotid cancer treatment and presentation: A National study

Objectives

Although parotid gland malignancies are uncommon, they nevertheless represent a cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. Few studies have sought to identify disparities related to their presentation, treatment, and survival. There is a need to understand these variations to improve care for historically underrepresented groups.

Study design

Retrospective Cohort Study.

Setting

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program Database.

Methods

Analysis of pediatric patients with parotid gland malignancies between 2000 and 2019. Race and ethnicity were classified as Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Asian, and Hispanic for multivariable analysis. Outcomes included tumor size and stage at diagnosis, survival, and need for facial nerve sacrifice. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to analyze survival. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify predictors of outcomes.

Results

149 patients met the criteria for inclusion. Stratified by race/ethnicity, Non-Hispanic Black (Median 23 mm, IQR 15–33), Asian (30 mm, 14–32), and Hispanic (23 mm, 20–28) patients had larger tumors at presentation than Non-Hispanic White patients (18 mm, 12–25, p = 0.017). Disease-specific survival differed by time-to-treatment (log-rank, p = 0.01) and overall survival differed by income (p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, Hispanic patients were more likely to experience facial nerve sacrifice (OR 3.71, 95%CI 1.25–11.6, p = 0.020), and Non-Hispanic Black (OR 3.37, 0.95–11.6, = 0.053) and Asian (OR 5.67, 1.46–22.2, p = 0.011) patients presented with larger tumors compared to Non-Hispanic White patients.

Conclusions

Variations in presentation and treatment exist across race and ethnicity in pediatric parotid cancer. Identifying these disparities may help improve access and outcomes for underserved patient populations.

Level of evidence

III.