title: Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients in the head and neck surgery department of a university hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Pesquisa em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maurício José Cabral
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ruback
authors.forename: Ana Lívia
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Galbiatti
authors.forename: Lidia Maria Rebolho Batista
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Arantes
authors.forename: Gustavo Henrique
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Marucci
authors.forename: Anelise
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Mariangela Torreglosa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Cintra
authors.forename: Luiz Sérgio
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Raposo
authors.forename: José Victor
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Maniglia
authors.forename: Erika Cristina
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Pavarino
authors.forename: Eny Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Goloni-Bertollo
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors