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. 2021 Jul;15(3):509-514.
doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1722090. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Trend Analysis of Head and Neck Neoplasms between 2012-2018 in Patients Residing in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study

Maha T Alsharif  1 , Alla T Alsharif  2 , Majid A Krsoum  3   4 , Mazen A Aljohani  3 , Osama M Qadiri  3   4 , Abdulkarim A Alharbi  3   5 , Sadeq A Al-Maweri  6   7 , Saman Warnakulasuriya  8   9 , Saba Kassim  2
Affiliations

Trend Analysis of Head and Neck Neoplasms between 2012-2018 in Patients Residing in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study

Maha T Alsharif et al. Eur J Dent. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to present a view of head and neck neoplasms (HNN) prevalence with specific focus on sociodemographic determinants in Al-Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods: This was a hospital-based retrospective study based on retrieval of histopathological data for a period of 6 years between 2012 and 2018. Data was collected from the archives of the Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Laboratory at King Fahad Hospital (the only referral center for biopsy services) in Al-Madinah City.

Statistical analysis: An independent t-test and/or nonparametric (Mann-Whitney U test, chi-squared test) tests were used to determine the differences between groups. Statistical significance was set at the p-value < 0.05.

Results: Out of 96 patients, a total of 58 patients had valid biopsy data with preoperative diagnosis. Over three quarters of the cases (n = 44) were benign with only 24% were malignant. Males were more likely to be diagnosed with a benign tumor than females (54.5 vs. 45.6%, respectively), and malignancy was also more common in males (64.3 vs. 24.1). A significant difference was found in relation to mean age of older patients who were more likely to be diagnosed with malignant tumors (p = 0.001).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that most of biopsied HNN cases are benign neoplasms. Age is a significant risk factor for head and neck malignancy in this region. Delays in diagnosis of HNN need to be explored.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of head and neck tumors based on anatomic location.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Incidence for head and neck neoplasms over the period 2012 to 2018.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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