Disparities in Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis Based on Residence and Distance From Medical Facility.

Context: Rural-urban disparities have been reported in cancer care, but data are sparse on the effect of geography and location of residence on access to care in thyroid cancer.

Objective: To identify impact of rural or urban residence and distance from treatment center on thyroid cancer stage at diagnosis.

Methods: We evaluated 800 adults with differentiated thyroid cancer in the iCaRe2 bioinformatics/biospecimen registry at the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.