Death with dignity utilization among patients with thoracic, head, and neck cancer.

12032 Background: Death with Dignity (DWD) legislation, which took effect in 2009 in Washington state, allows terminally ill patients (pts) to self-administer physician-prescribed, life-ending medication. Thoracic, head and neck cancer (THN) pts are among the top cancer types requesting DWD; however, data describing this group are limited. Methods: This retrospective chart review, conducted at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/University of Washington and Fred Hutch, collected demographics, disease, treatment, support services and steps of the DWD process. We tested the association between disease characteristics of interest and DWD completion using Fisher’s Exact test. Results: Between Jan 2014 and October 2020, 498 pts inquired about DWD, and 108 (22%) were THN pts. Among THN pts, 51 (47%) only initiated the DWD request process, 35 (33%) only completed the DWD request process, and 22 (20%) completed the DWD request and self-administered the medication. Pts were white (n=90, 83%), male (n=64, 59%), primarily English speaking (n=103, 95%), nonreligious (n=69, 64%), single/divorced/non-partnered (n=55, 51%), and insured (n=103, 95%). Median age at request was 68 years (range 35-88). The table details THN DWD utilization. At time of DWD request, the median time from diagnosis was 14 months (range=0.2-242.7), and 62 (57%) had received ≥2 lines of therapy. Among 78 (72%) pts who received systemic therapy, 51 (65%) were ≥30 days from last therapy to time of death. Within 30 days prior to DWD request, 30 (28%), 25 (23%), and 7 (7%) pts saw social work, palliative care, and spiritual health respectively, and 35 (32%) were hospice-enrolled. Stage IV at diagnosis had higher rates of DWD medication use (p=0.05). There was no significant correlation between DWD medication use and primary site, ECOG score at request, insurance type, mental health diagnosis, use of depression/anxiety or pain medications, or hospice enrollment during DWD process. Conclusions: THN pts requesting DWD were predominantly white, nonreligious, insured males. Pts with advanced stage at diagnosis were more likely to use DWD medication. There was a higher proportion of DWD medication use with poorer performance status, and no association between use of depression/anxiety, pain medications, or utilization of supportive care services and DWD medication usage. Future research should investigate DWD utilization among THN pts in multiple centers and states to evaluate these patterns. [Table: see text]