The SEPI team presented in the XLVI AIE conference a work with the aim of studying the impact of having an Head and Neck Cancer (HNSCC) on the weekly wage of employees in Italy.

The analysis was based on the WHIP-Health database, which integrates data on individual work histories developed from the administrative archives of the National Institute for Social Welfare (INPS) and several health information, including hospital discharges records retrieved from the Italian Ministry of Health.

Previous studies shown greater difficulties in returning to work and an increased probability of losing employment for patients with HNSCC compared to other types of cancer, with a consequent deterioration in the quality of life (QoL). However, little evidence is available on the career of those who continue to be employed, and this work is a first step in this direction.

This preliminary work was also useful to verify the completeness and accuracy of administrative dataset in selecting HNSCC and also to check the availability of the information on stage and treatments. The latter are relevant for identifying cancer-specific determinants of post treatment occupational status and salaries and therefore of QoL.

This study is part of the line related to occupational outcomes considered in the BD4QoL project, which intend to provide the occupational and socio-economic framework useful for QoL determinants sizing.