Social disparities in survival from head and neck cancers in Europe

Much has been written about the social disparities in incidence and mortality from head and neck cancer, but comparatively, little is understood about how socioeconomic factors affect survival. As a major form of cancer incidence in Europe, it is important to more fully contextualise the social effects on survival from this complex disease. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on social disparities and head and neck cancer survival in Europe and found clear evidence to support the role of social status on survivability, with those at the lower end of the hierarchy having worse survival outcomes. Tobacco and alcohol (ab)use were the most commonly studied and cited risk factors associated with both social position and length of survival, but it remains evident that much more work is needed to explicate the exact ways these and other less-studied risks directly impact survival.