Cancer Care Navigation Improves Timeliness of Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer

Background Timely access to oncologic care is critical for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), yet delays in treatment remain widespread. We sought to determine whether implementation of a care navigation program was associated with improved timeliness. Methods Four hunded and four adult patients who underwent HNC resection with free flap reconstruction were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome was time to adjuvant therapy and disease‐free survival. Results Median [IQR] age was 64 [58–73] years and 133 (33%) were women. Significant interval decreases were observed from surgery to initiation of adjuvant radiotherapy (56 [39–83] vs. 45 [31–64] days, p = 0.004). Log‐rank testing revealed no difference in disease‐free survival between pre‐ and postprogram cohorts ( p = 0.7695). Conclusions Implementation of a care navigation program was associated with significant reductions in time to treatment. These findings suggest that structured pathways can meaningfully improve oncologic care delivery for HNC patients.