Disparities in Time-to-treatment for Patients With Melanoma

Abstract

Background/aim: This study aimed to investigate the demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with disparities in the time-to-treatment for melanoma.

Patients and methods: We conducted an analysis of patients with melanoma from 2004 to 2019 using the National Cancer Database. Time intervals from diagnosis to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy were compared based on age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status.

Results: A total of 647,273 patients with melanoma were included. Overall, Hispanic patients had the longest times to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy compared to non-Hispanic patients (surgery 38.52 vs. 31.90 days, radiation 130.12 vs. 99.67 days, chemotherapy 93.66 vs. 83.72 days, all p<0.01). Similarly, black patients and those who were uninsured had the longest times-to-treatment.

Conclusion: We identified significant disparities in time-to-treatment, related to both race and socioeconomic factors. It is increasingly imperative to conduct further investigations into the root causes of these disparities to effectively address and rectify the inequities present in breast cancer care.

Keywords: Melanoma cancer; disparity; inequality; treatment.