Retrospective evaluation of risk factors for oral cavity and oropharynx cancers in patients under the program of head and neck cancers prevention

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the study was to analyze the risk factors for oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in people examined under the Head and Neck Cancer Prophylaxis Program. Material and methods: The study was conducted in a total of 300 patients, including 186 women and 114 men, as part of the Head and Neck Cancer Prevention Program in 2014–2018. Before the laryngological examination, the patients completed a demographic and medical questionnaire regarding the risk factors of head and neck cancer, including education, reported disease symptoms, smoking addiction, number of cigarettes smoked daily, alcohol consumption, frequency of visits in a dental office, oral hygiene measures, number of sexual partners, oral sex, family medical history of head and neck cancer. Results: The subjects reported the following symptoms: hoarseness 43.33%, difficulty swallowing 21.33%, pain or mouth burning 20.33% and other symptoms were observed in 46.33%. The main dental symptoms were: bleeding from the gums during teeth brushing in 48.89%, dry mouth 45.56%. Currently 20.33% of respondents smoke, whereas 54% of patients smoked in the past. In the analyzed material, the majority (80%) consumed alcoholic beverages. 27.67% of respondents admitted having oral sex, including 24.73% of women and 32.46% of men. After performing the extended diagnostics, the tumor was found in 10% of the subjects. C onclusions: Statistical significance of differences was found: between hoarseness and alcohol consumption, both in women and in men, between hoarseness and smoking in women, between difficulty in swallowing and smoking in women, between burning/pain in the mouth and smoking in men, between hoarseness and the cultivation of oral sex in men, between the difficulty of swallowing and the practice of oral sex in the studied men and between burning/pain in the oral cavity and the occurrence of malignancy.