Study finds non-English speaking head and neck cancer patients have significantly worse outcomes
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 - 11:00
in Health & Medicine
Researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that among advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) patients receiving radiation-based treatment (RT), being non-English speaking (NES) was a more significant predictor of treatment outcome than being of non-white race. The findings, to be presented at the 53rd annual American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in Miami, Florida, suggest that language barriers may play a role in health-care disparities and that further interpreter/translation services are warranted in the care of such diverse patients.