OBJECTIVES: There is a limited updated epidemiological data on the Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) scenario at diagnosis in Brazil. This observational, retrospective study describes the epidemiology of HNSCC at diagnosis at public and private health care systems.

METHODS: This descriptive, retrospective database study included patients with ≥18 years diagnosed with HNSCC in Brazil between 2016 and 2018 from seven private cancer centers and hospital-based national cancer registries in the public setting.

RESULTS: This study included 36,914 and 207 participants from public and private settings, respectively. Both private and public cohorts had approximately 81% male gender. The main site of HNSCC primary tumor was oropharynx, followed by oral cavity, larynx and hypopharynx in the private, and oral cavity followed by larynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx in the public setting. Disease stage data was available for 92.8% and 64.7% of the private and public settings, respectively. For both cohorts, locally advanced stage of HNSCC at diagnosis accounted for the majority (75.5% in private and 70.9% in public settings). Median time between diagnosis and death was 16.8 (IQR: 10.5-27.82) months for locally advanced stage in the private and 6.8 (IQR: 3.3-12.5) for public setting. Metastatic tumor had the poorest survival outcomes for public cohort, with about 42.5% of the metastatic patients progressing to death within six months and a median time from diagnosis to death of 7.47 months (IQR: 3.57-13.30). Public cohort progressed to death faster and at younger age than private cohort. Most patients with primary oropharynx tumors who were tested for HPV were positive.

CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of patients with HNSCC in Brazil in private and public healthcare settings, providing relevant insights to the medical community for the development of health policies and improvement of care for patient with HNSCC.