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. 2017 Jul 2;9(7):e1418.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.1418.

Demographics of Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Single Institution Experience

George S Stoyanov  1 , Martina Kitanova  1 , Deyan L Dzhenkov  1 , Peter Ghenev  1 , Nikolay Sapundzhiev  2
Affiliations

Demographics of Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Single Institution Experience

George S Stoyanov et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Introduction Head and neck cancer (HNC) comprises a diverse group of oncological entities, originating from various tissue types and organ localizations, situated in the topographical regions of the head and neck (H&N). This single institution retrospective study was aimed at establishing the HNC patient demographics and categorizing the individual incidence of H&N malignancies, regarding their organ of origin and main histopathological type. Materials and methods All histologically verified cases of HNC from a single tertiary referral center were reviewed in a descriptive retrospective manner. Data sampling period was 47 months. Results Male to female ratio of the registered HNC cases was 3.24:1. The mean age of diagnosis was 63.84 ± 12.65 years, median 65 years. The most common HNC locations include the larynx 30.37% (n = 188), lips and oral cavity 29.08% (n = 180), pharynx 20.03% (n = 124) and salivary glands 10.94% (n = 68), with other locations such as the external nose, nasal cavity and sinuses and auricle and external ear canal harboring a minority of the cases. The main histopathological groups include squamous cell carcinoma 76.74% (n = 475) and adenocarcinoma 6.14% (n = 38), with other malignant entries such as other epithelial malignancies, primary tonsillar, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue or parenchymal lymphomas, connective tissue neoplasias, neuroendocrine and vascular malignancies diagnosed in a minority of cases. Conclusion Considered to be relatively rare, HNC represents a diverse group of oncological entities with individual and specific demographic characteristics. The reported single institution results appear representative of the national incidence and characteristics of HNC.

Keywords: demographics; descriptive analysis; head and neck cancer; statistics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Head and neck cancer by distribution of cases on a yearly basis (A), localizations with gender ratio (B), incidence by age group (C), mean age (D) and general distribution by major localizations (E).
HNC: Head and neck cancer.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Head and neck cancer by main histopathological type (A) and gender ratio of each histopathological type (B).
HNC: Head and neck cancer; SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; MeC: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; BcC: Basocellular carcinoma; Ca ex PA: Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma; NeC: Neuroendocrine carcinoma.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Malignancies of the larynx and cervical region of the trachea by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; MeC: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Malignancies of the lip and oral cavity by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; MeC: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; BcC: Basocellular carcinoma.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Malignancies of the pharynx by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; NeC: Neuroendocrine carcinoma.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Malignancies of the salivary glands by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; MeC: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; BcC: Basocellular carcinoma; Ca ex PA: Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma; NeC: Neuroendocrine carcinoma.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Malignancies of the external nose and nasal cavity by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; BcC: Basocellular carcinoma; NeC: Neuroendocrine carcinoma.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Malignancies of the auricle and external ear canal by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; BcC: Basocellular carcinoma.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Malignancies of the sinuses by age group (A) and main histopathological type (B).
SCC: Squamous cell carcinoma; AC: Adenocarcinoma; NeC: Neuroendocrine carcinoma.
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