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Updated: Jul 5, 2025
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Therapy Testing in a Spheroid-based 3D Cell Culture Model for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 20, 2018
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Racial Disparities in Head and Neck Cancer: It's Not Just About Access
Russell A Whitehead1, Evan A Patel1, Jeffrey C Liu2,3
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Summary
Racial disparities in head and neck cancer (HNC) are driven by unequal healthcare access and socioeconomic factors. Other contributors include lifestyle, biology, and treatment variations, necessitating a multifaceted approach to achieve health equity.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Public Health
- Health Disparities
Background:
- Racial disparities in head and neck cancer (HNC) are well-documented in the U.S., primarily between non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations.
- While inequitable healthcare access and socioeconomic status (SES) are commonly cited, other factors contribute to these disparities.
Approach:
- A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, searching PubMed, SCOPUS, and CINAHL for literature up to November 2022.
- 2309 publications were identified, and 340 were selected for full-text review and thematic categorization.
Key Points:
- 192 articles focused on access/SES, highlighting disparities in hospital quality, insurance, and transportation affecting HNC outcomes.
- 148 articles addressed treatment variations, lifestyle factors (tobacco/alcohol use), HPV-associated malignancies, and race-informed gene silencing in HNC.
Conclusions:
- Unequal access to care significantly contributes to HNC racial disparities, particularly impacting NHB populations.
- Addressing HNC disparities requires not only improving healthcare access but also tackling other significant contributing themes like lifestyle and biological factors.
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