Determinants of treatment waiting times for head and neck cancer in the Netherlands and their relation to survival

Introduction Waiting to start treatment has been shown to be associated with tumor progression and upstaging in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). This diminishes the chance of cure and might lead to unnecessary mortality. We investigated the association between waiting times and survival in the Netherlands and assessed which factors were associated to longer waiting times. Methods Patient (age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), tumor (site, stage) and treatment (type, of institute of diagnosis/treatment) characteristics for patients with HNSCC who underwent treatment were extract... Mehr ...