Table 1.
Demographical, Behavioral, and Clinical Characteristics of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Diagnosed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center between January 2012 and March 2018 by Urban–Rural Counties in Alabama
| Exposure/covariates | All patients |
Rural counties |
Urban counties |
pa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n=4258) |
(n=1538) |
(n=2720) |
||
| Frequency (%) | Frequency (%) | Frequency (%) | ||
| Age at cancer presentation/diagnosis in years | ||||
| Median (IQR) | 63.0 (55.0–72.0) | 63.2 (56.0–72.0) | 62.2 (54.0–72.0) | 0.03 |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 2933 (68.9) | 1083 (70.4) | 1850 (68.0) | 0.10 |
| Female | 1325 (31.1) | 455 (29.6) | 870 (32.0) | |
| Race | ||||
| White | 3136 (73.7) | 1236 (80.4) | 1900 (69.9) | <0.0001 |
| Black | 622 (14.6) | 150 (9.7) | 472 (17.3) | |
| Other | 500 (11.7) | 152 (9.9) | 348 (12.8) | |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married/with partner | 2225 (52.3) | 843 (54.8) | 1382 (50.8) | 0.07 |
| Divorced/separated/widowed | 750 (17.6) | 265 (17.2) | 485 (17.8) | |
| Single | 823 (19.3) | 273 (17.8) | 550 (20.2) | |
| Unknown | 460 (10.8) | 157 (10.2) | 303 (11.1) | |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Current | 771 (26.9) | 297 (29.4) | 474 (25.6) | 0.004 |
| Former | 1035 (36.2) | 380 (37.6) | 655 (35.3) | |
| Never | 1058 (36.9) | 333 (33.0) | 725 (39.1) | |
| Alcohol status | ||||
| Current | 1180 (30.7) | 362 (26.2) | 818 (33.3) | <0.0001 |
| Former | 347 (9.1) | 128 (9.3) | 219 (8.9) | |
| Never | 2313 (60.2) | 890 (64.5) | 1423 (57.8) | |
| Insurance status | ||||
| Private insurance | 2381 (55.9) | 818 (55.0)) | 1563 (59.5) | <0.0001 |
| Medicare | 1051 (25.5) | 419 (28.2) | 632 (24.1) | |
| Medicaid | 407 (9.9) | 175 (11.8) | 232 (8.8) | |
| Self-pay/uninsured | 276 (6.7) | 76 (5.1) | 200 (7.6) | |
| Anatomic subsite | ||||
| Oral cavity | 1029 (24.2) | 351 (22.2) | 678 (24.9) | 0.10 |
| Oropharynx | 813 (19.1) | 283 (18.4) | 530 (19.5) | |
| Larynx and hypopharynx | 791 (18.6) | 284 (18.5) | 507 (18.6) | |
| Nasopharynx, nasal cavity, and sinuses | 285 (6.7) | 96 (6.2) | 189 (7.0) | |
| Major salivary | 438 (10.3) | 179 (11.6) | 259 (9.5) | |
| HNC of unspecified originb | 902 (21.2) | 345 (22.4) | 557 (20.5) | |
| Cancer stage at diagnosis | ||||
| Stage I/II | 440 (38.0) | 151 (35.1) | 289 (39.8) | 0.117 |
| Stage III/IV | 717 (62.0) | 279 (64.9) | 438 (60.2) | |
a
p value based on chi-square and Wilcoxon tests for the two groups (rural vs. urban counties); missing data for alcohol status=418, smoking status=1394, insurance status=143, cancer stage at diagnosis=3101.
b
Cancer in multiple sites, other ill-defined parts of head and neck, including unspecified parts of nasal cavity, oral cavity or floor of mouth, or CUP.
CUP, carcinoma of unknown primary; HNC, head and neck cancer; IQR, interquartile range.