Areal differences in the rate of operative care for cancer of the head and neck within one hospital district in Northern Finland

The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and cancers of the head and neck has been described previously. The present study investigated areal differences in the rate of operative care of cancers of the head and neck in terms of SES and rural–urban areas.

This retrospective cohort study included operations performed in Northern Finland between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2019. SES and the rurality of the residence was determined using postal codes.

Patients from the low-income areas were older and had higher American Society of Anesthesiologists classification than patients from middle- and high-income areas. The number of operated thyroid and parotid gland tumours was higher in the high-income areas (n = 36 [33.0%] vs n = 21 [18.8%] and n = 330 [28.6%], p = 0.049). Patients living in low- or median-income areas were more likely to live in rural areas than patients living in high-income areas (n = 55 [49.1%] and n = 62 [59.0%] vs n = 44 [40.4%], p = 0.024). The age-weighted rate of operations was higher in low-income areas than in high-income areas (29.3 [23.9–29.3] vs 17.9 [14.5–21.2]), and the age-weighted rate of free-flap surgery was highest in the low-income areas (16.8 [12.4–21.2] vs 8.2 [5.7–10.6] and 9.6 [7.0–12.1] /100,000 inhabitants/year).

There are significant areal differences in the rate of ablative head and neck surgery. Significantly higher rates were found in low-income areas and in rural areas.