Survival of Patients With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Housing Subsidy in a Tiered Public Housing System

Abstract

Background: Socioeconomic status affects survival in patients diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), even in health systems with universal health care. Singapore has a tiered subsidized housing system, in which income determines eligibility for subsidies by size of apartment. Aim: The objective of this study was to assess whether a patient's residential type (heavily subsidized public housing, moderately subsidized public housing, minimally subsidized or private residential housing type) was associated with mortality. A secondary analysis examined whether patients in more heavily subsidized apartments were more likely to present with advanced disease. Methods: An historical cohort study of patients in a tertiary referral center with HNSCC was identified in the multidisciplinary cancer database from 1992 to 2014. Clinicopathologic data were extracted for analysis. Patient residential postal codes were matched to type of housing. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the relationship between all-cause mortality and the predictors of interest as well as the association between housing type and disease stage at presentation. Results: Of the 758 patients identified, most were men (73.4%), the median age was 64 years, 30.5% were smokers and 15.2% were ex-smokers. Over one-half (56.8%) of patients presented with advanced disease. Male gender (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.16-3.48, P = 0.01), age (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05, P < 0.001), stage at presentation (stage 4, reference stage 1, OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.11-3.72, P = 0.02), smoker status (smoker, reference nonsmoker, OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.33-4.87, P < 0.01) and housing subsidy type (living in minimally subsidized or private residences, relative to heavily subsidized public housing, OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.15-0.78, P = 0.01) were significantly associated with increased mortality. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that patients living in the smaller, higher subsidy apartments had the worst adjusted survival, followed by patients in moderately subsidized housing, with those in minimally subsidized or private residences having the best adjusted survival. Patients in higher-subsidy apartments were not more likely to present with advanced disease, suggesting that the survival difference was not because of delayed presentation. Conclusion: Patients with HNSCC living in higher-subsidy residences have worse survival despite no apparent delays in presentation. First published: Cancer. 2017 Jun 1;123(11):1998-2005. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30557 . Epub 2017 Jan 30. Survival of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by housing subsidy in a tiered public housing system. Wong TH, Skanthakumar T, Nadkarni N, Nguyen HV, Iyer NG.