Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39323057›Full record

ArticleHead & neck2025

The impact of digital inequities on salivary gland cancer disparities in the United States.

David M Bruss, David J Fei-Zhang, Helena Kim, Daniel C Chelius, Anthony M Sheyn, John P Maddalozzo, Jeffrey C Rastatter, Jill N D'Souza

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Head & neck, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Social determinants of health and health outcomes in older cancer survivors.Current opinion in supportive and palliative care · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

David M BrussDepartment of Otolaryngology, University of Illinois at Chicago - College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
David J Fei-ZhangNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4485-8274
Helena KimNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Daniel C CheliusDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Pediatric Thyroid Tumor Program and Pediatric Head and Neck Tumor Program, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Anthony M SheynDepartment of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
John P MaddalozzoDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Jeffrey C RastatterDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Jill N D'SouzaLouisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Department of Otolaryngology, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionTechnology and internet access have become increasingly integrated into healthcare as the primary platform for health-related information and provider-patient communication. Disparities in access to digital resources exist in the United States and have been shown to impact health outcomes in various head and neck malignancies. Our objective is to evaluate the associations of digital inequity on health outcomes in patients with salivary gland cancer (SGC).

methodsThe Digital Inequity Index (DII) was developed using 17 census-tract level variables obtained from the American Community Survey and Federal Communications Commission. Variables were categorized as digital infrastructure or sociodemographic (e.g., non-digital) and scored based on relative rankings across all US counties. Scores were assigned to patients from the Surveillance-Epidemiology-End Results (SEER) database diagnosed with SGC between 2013 and 2017 based on county-of-residence. Regressions were performed between DII score and outcomes of surveillance time, survival time, tumor stage at time of diagnosis, and treatment modality.

resultsAmong 9306 SGC-patients, increased digital inequity was associated with advanced-staging at presentation (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.07, p = 0.033), increased odds of chemotherapy receipt (OR: 1.05, CI: 1.01-1.10, p = 0.010), and decreased odds of surgical intervention (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91-0.98, p = 0.003) after accounting for traditional sociodemographic factors. Increased digital inequity was also associated with decreased surveillance time and survival periods.

conclusionsDigital inequity significantly and independently associates with negative health and treatment outcomes in SGC patients, highlighting the importance of directed efforts to address these seldom-investigated drivers of health disparities.

Indexed as

Healthcare DisparitiesSalivary Gland NeoplasmsAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingSEER ProgramSocioeconomic FactorsUnited Statesdigital dividedigital inequitygeospatial analysishealth disparitysalivary gland cancersocial determinants of health

Identifiers

PMID39323057
PMCPMC11717938

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.