PREVALENCE AND PATTERNS OF HEAD & NECK CANCERS IN PATIENTS VISITING SPHMMC, ETHIOPIA FROM 2017-2018

Abstract

Background: Head and Neck cancer comprises a diverse array of diseases with distinct anatomical subsites, histopathologic features and risk factors. The most common type of head and neck cancer is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT). In 2008, more than 600 000 people worldwide were diagnosed with UADT SCC. The incidence of and risk factors for UADT SCC differ by tumour subsite. These major subsites are nasopharynx, oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, hypopharynx, salivary glands, and thyroid. Despite this growing burden, cancer continues to receive low public health priority in Africa, largely because of limited resources and other pressing public health problems, including communicable diseases such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)/Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, malaria, and tuberculosis. It may also be in part due to a lack of awareness about the magnitude of the current and future cancer burden among policy makers, the general public, and international private or public health agencies Objective: To assess the prevalence and patterns of Head and Neck cancers in patients visiting SPHMMC from 2107-2018. Methods and participants: Health facility based retrospective chart review study was conducted. This is a two year retrospective study to analyze the data recorded in SPHMMC ENT Department from Jan 1, 2017 up to Dec 31, 2018. The data from the registration book was checked, selected and those included in the inclusion criteria’s were fed to SPSS version 23.0 to analyze the type, the pattern, and other variables. Results and Discussion: A total of 100 patients were diagnosed with head and neck cancer among which 62 (62.00%) were males. Laryngeal(35.00%) and salivary gland cancers (26.00%) were the leading head and neck cancers. Squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant histologic type (70.00%). Most patients (73.00%) presented at advanced stages of cancer. Conclusion: Cancer has been increasingly recognized as a critical public health problem in Ethiopia, Despite this increasing burden, cancer continues to receive low public health priority in Africa, largely because of the overwhelming burden of communicable diseases and limited resources. This study has summarized the patterns of head and neck cancers in SPHMMC, Ethiopia. This should be helpful to raise cancer awareness and promote cancer prevention and control in this country Key words: Prevalence, Pattern, Head and Neck Surgery (HNS), SCC, SPHMMC