title: Oral cancer preventive campaigns: are we reaching the real target?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral cavity malignant neoplasms have a high mortality rate. For this reason, preventive campaigns have been developed, both to educate the population and to diagnose lesions at an early stage. However, there are studies that contest the validity of these endeavors, principally because the target audience of the campaigns may not conform to the group at highest risk for oral malignancy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the profile of patients who avail themselves of the preventive campaign, identify the presence of oral lesions in that population, and compare that data with the epidemiological profile of patients with oral cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional historical cohort study performed by analysis of epidemiological data of the campaign "Abra a Boca para a Saúde" collected in the years from 2008 to 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the years analyzed, 11,965 people were treated and 859 lesions were diagnosed, all benign. There was a female predominance (52.7%), with mean age of 44 years (±15.4 years); 26% were smokers and 29% reported alcohol consumption. It is known that the group at highest risk to develop oral cancer is 60- to 70-year-old men, who are alcoholic smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The population that seeks preventive campaigns is not the main risk group for the disease. This fact explains the low number of lesions and the lack of cancer detection.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: renato_nemoto@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Renato Paladino
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Nemoto
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alana Asciutti
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Victorino
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gregory Bittar
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lais Lourenção Garcia da
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Antonio Rodrigues da
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jossi Ledo
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro Luongo de
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Matos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Epidemiologia e bioestatística; Epidemiology and biostatistics; Head and neck neoplasms; Health promotion; Mouth neoplasms; Neoplasias bucais; Neoplasias de cabeça e pescoço; Promoção da saúde