Factors associated with adjuvant treatment delays in patients treated surgically for head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the patient and treatment characteristics associated with delay in post-operative radiation therapy (PORT) for patients treated surgically for head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) at our institution. DESIGN: Single institution retrospective review. SETTING: Tertiary care academic medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: Patients treated surgically for HNSCC who underwent PORT between 2013 and 2016. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: One hundred forty patients met inclusion criteria. A majority did not start radiotherapy within 6 weeks. Factors associated with a delayed initiation of PORT included length of stay >8 days, 30-day readmission, no adjuvant chemotherapy, post-operative complications and fragmented care. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of patients did not initiate PORT within the guideline-recommended 6 weeks. Modifiable risks factors that delay initiation of PORT were identified.

Concordant palliative care delivery in advanced head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the palliative care consultation practices in an academic head and neck surgery practice. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of a palliative care database and the health record for all palliative care consultations of patients suffering from advanced stage head and neck cancer within a 21-month period. RESULTS: Ten head and neck cancer patients received palliative care consults while on the otolaryngology service. One consultation occurred preoperatively; nine occurred postoperatively, on a median of hospital day 9. At the time of referral, seven patients were in the ICU and three were on a surgical floor. Code status de-escalation occurred in six patients and psycho-socio-spiritual suffering was supported in all consultations. Nine patients died within six months, with a median post-consultation survival of 35 days. Of these, two died in an ICU, five were discharged to hospice, one to a SNF, and one to a LTACH. CONCLUSION: Palliative care consultation in this advanced head and neck cancer cohort was commonly late, however, significant suffering was mitigated following most consults. Palliative care specialists are experts at eliciting patient values, determining acceptable tradeoffs and suffering limitations by employing a shared decision-making process that ends with a patient-centered value-congruent treatment recommendation. Oftentimes, this embraces curative-intent or palliative surgery, along with contingency plans for unacceptable value-incongruent postoperative outcomes. Enhanced awareness of the benefits of embracing concordant palliative care in advanced head and neck cancer patients may help overcome the significant barriers to involving palliative care experts earlier.

Cigarette Smoking in Response to COVID-19: Examining Co-Morbid Medical Conditions and Risk Perceptions.

During the initial wave of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the U.S., information was mixed about the relative COVID-19 risks and potential benefits associated with cigarette smoking. Therefore, we sought to understand individual differences in the impact of COVID-19 on cigarette smoking in a sample of adults who reported recent use, with a particular focus on chronic medical conditions likely associated with increased COVID-19 risk. Participants completed an online survey of smoking behavior, demographic variables, medical history, and COVID-19 risk perceptions between July and August 2020 (N = 286). We examined whether medical conditions, COVID-19 risk perceptions and/or demographic characteristics were related to smoking changes in response to the pandemic (i.e., no change, decrease, increase) using multinomial logistical regression. Younger age, higher COVID-19 risk perceptions and Black versus White race were associated with greater odds of decreased smoking compared to no smoking change. Moreover, having at least one chronic medical condition was associated with greater odds of increased smoking relative to no change. The results have important implications for tobacco cessation treatment and preventive healthcare during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other public health threats.

Examining Tobacco Treatment Perceptions and Barriers among Black versus Non-Black Adults Attending Lung Cancer Screening.

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening for patients at high risk based on age and smoking history. Understanding the characteristics of patients attending lung cancer screening, including potential barriers to quitting smoking, may inform ways to engage these high-risk patients in tobacco treatment and address health disparities. Patients attending lung cancer screening who currently smoke cigarettes completed a survey at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven (N = 74) and the Medical University of South Carolina (N = 73) at the time of their appointment. The survey assessed demographics, smoking history, and perceptions and concerns about quitting smoking.Patients were 55 to 76 years old (mean = 63.3, SD = 5.3), N = 64 (43.5%) female, and N = 31 (21.1%) non-Hispanic Black. Patients smoked 16.3 cigarettes per day on average (SD = 9.2) and rated interest in quitting smoking in the next month as moderate (mean = 5.6, SD = 3.1, measured from 0 = "very definitely no" to 10 = "very definitely yes"). The most frequently endorsed concerns about quitting smoking were missing smoking (70.7%), worry about having strong urges to smoke (63.9%), and concerns about withdrawal symptoms (59.9%). In comparison with other races/ethnicities, Black patients were less likely to report concerns about withdrawal symptoms and more likely to report smoking less now and perceiving no need to quit. Findings identified specific barriers for tobacco treatment and differences by race/ethnicity among patients attending lung cancer screening, including concerns about withdrawal symptoms and perceived need to quit. Identifying ways to promote tobacco treatment is important for reducing morbidity and mortality among this high-risk population. PREVENTION RELEVANCE: The current study examines patient characteristics and tobacco treatment perceptions and barriers among patients attending lung cancer screening who continue to smoke cigarettes that may help inform ways to increase treatment engagement and address tobacco-related health disparities to reduce morbidity and mortality from smoking.