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. 2012;130(5):307-13.
doi: 10.1590/s1516-31802012000500007.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients in the head and neck surgery department of a university hospital

Maurício José Cabral Ruback  1 , Ana Lívia Galbiatti, Lidia Maria Rebolho Batista Arantes, Gustavo Henrique Marucci, Anelise Russo, Mariangela Torreglosa Ruiz-Cintra, Luiz Sérgio Raposo, José Victor Maniglia, Erika Cristina Pavarino, Eny Maria Goloni-Bertollo
Affiliations

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients in the head and neck surgery department of a university hospital

Maurício José Cabral Ruback et al. Sao Paulo Med J. 2012.

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Context and objectives: Head and neck cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer worldwide. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological parameters in a head and neck surgery service.

Design and setting: Cross-sectional study using patients' records, developed in otolaryngology and head and neck department of a university hospital in the northwest of the state of São Paulo.

Methods: A total of 995 patients in the head and neck surgery service between January 2000 and May 2010 were evaluated. The variables analyzed included: age, gender, skin color, tobacco and alcohol consumption, primary site, staging and histological tumor type, treatment and number of deaths.

Results: The disease was more frequent among men (79.70%), smokers (75.15%) and alcohol abusers (58.25%). The most representative sites were oral cavity (29.65%) and larynx (24.12%) for the primary site; squamous cell carcinoma (84.92%) was the most frequent histological type, and surgery (29.04%) and radiotherapy (14.19%) were the most common treatments.

Conclusion: The cancer that affects patients assisted by the head and neck surgery service occurs mainly men, smokers and alcohol abusers, and the oral cavity and larynx are the sites with the highest incidence. The high rate of patients with stages III and IV indicates late diagnosis by the treatment centers, which reflects the need for prevention education campaigns for early diagnosis of the disease.

CONTEXTO E OBJETIVOS:: O câncer de cabeça e pescoço é o quinto tipo mais comum entre todas as neoplasias no mundo. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar os parâmetros clínicos e epidemiológicos em um serviço de cirurgia de cabeça e pescoço.

TIPO DE ESTUDO E LOCAL:: Estudo transversal com coleta de dados de prontuários, realizado no departamento de otorrinolaringologia e cabeça e pescoço de um hospital universitário do noroeste do estado de São Paulo.

MÉTODOS:: Um total de 995 pacientes do serviço de cirurgia de cabeça e pescoço foi avaliado entre janeiro de 2000 a maio de 2010. As variáveis analisadas foram: idade, gênero, cor da pele, consumo de álcool e tabaco, sítio primário, estádio e tipo histológico do tumor, tratamento e número de mortes.

RESULTADOS:: A doença foi mais frequente entre homens (79,70%), tabagistas (75,15%) e etilistas (58,25%). Os locais mais representativos foram: cavidade oral (29,65%) e laringe (24,12%) para sítio primário; carcinoma espinocelular (84,92%) foi o tipo histológico mais frequente e cirurgia (29,04%) e radioterapia (14,19%) foram os tratamentos mais comuns.

CONCLUSÃO:: O câncer que afeta os pacientes assistidos pelo serviço de cirurgia de cabeça e pescoço ocorre, em sua maioria, entre homens, tabagistas e etilistas, tendo a cavidade oral e a laringe maior incidência. A alta taxa de pacientes com estádios III e IV indica diagnóstico tardio pelos centros de tratamento, o que reflete a necessidade de campanhas de prevenção para o diagnóstico precoce da doença.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None

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