Disparities in Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis Based on Residence and Distance From Medical Facility

Authors

Sunita Regmi, Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Evi A. Farazi, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Elizabeth Lyden, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Anupam Kotwal, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Apar Kishor Ganti, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Whitney Goldner, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal Title

Journal of the Endocrine Society

Publication Date

2024

Volume

8

Abstract

CONTEXT: Rural-urban disparities have been reported in cancer care, but data are sparse on the effect of geography and location of residence on access to care in thyroid cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To identify impact of rural or urban residence and distance from treatment center on thyroid cancer stage at diagnosis.

METHODS: We evaluated 800 adults with differentiated thyroid cancer in the iCaRe2 bioinformatics/biospecimen registry at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. Participants were categorized into early and late stage using AJCC staging, and residence/distance from treating facility was categorized as short (≤ 12.5 miles), intermediate (> 12.5 to < 50 miles) or long (≥ 50 miles). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with late-stage diagnosis.

RESULTS: Overall, 71% lived in an urban area and 29% lived in a rural area. Distance from home to the treating facility was short for 224 (28%), intermediate for 231 (28.8%), and long for 345 (43.1%). All 224 (100%) short, 226 (97.8%) intermediate, and 120 (34.7%) long distances were for urban patients; in contrast, among rural patients, 5 (2.16%) lived intermediate and 225 (65.2%) lived long distances from treatment (

CONCLUSION: Older age at diagnosis, living in rural areas, and residing farther from the treatment center are all independently associated with late stage at diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

DOI Link

10.1210/jendso/bvae033

ISSN

2472-1972

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Regmi, Sunita; Farazi, Evi A.; Lyden, Elizabeth; Kotwal, Anupam; Ganti, Apar Kishor; and Goldner, Whitney, "Disparities in Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis Based on Residence and Distance From Medical Facility" (2024). Journal Articles: Epidemiology. 197.
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/coph_epidem_articles/197