Wei-Hsien Hou, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of California in Davis, and colleagues examined potential racial disparities in the use of larynx preservation in 5,385 patients with stage III and IV laryngeal cancer without T4 disease or distant metastasis.

The researchers found that, of the cases, 72.7 percent were white, 16.8 percent black, 7.4 percent Hispanic, and 3.1 percent Asian. Blacks were found to be significantly less likely to undergo larynx preservation, on univariate analysis (odds ratio [OR], 0.72). On multivariate analysis, the racial disparity persisted for blacks (OR, 0.78) and was also seen for the subgroup of more recently treated patients (2001 to 2008; OR, 0.74).

"Pronounced racial disparities exist in the use of larynx preservation therapy for locally advanced laryngeal cancer," the authors write. "While acknowledging the potential biases of socioeconomic factors, further research to better elucidate the underlying reasons for these findings may be warranted."

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