Head and neck carcinoma: Analysis of 2.500 cases

The purpose of this paper is to define the prevalence of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck as seen at the ENT Department, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain in the last years, studying 2500 cases. Relative frequencies at the various sites, age distribution, male to female ratios, TNM stage are reported. From the results we point out that laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (1297 cases) were more than 50% of all tumors, followed by oropharygeal carcinomas, oral cavity carcinomas and hypopharyngeal carcinomas. The mean age was 61 years, and patients with nasopharyngeal carcinomas were the youngest. 92% of the patients were males, and the highest rate of males was seen in the larynx and hypopharynx (97% males). Only 9% of the patients were non-smokers and 18% were not alcohol drinkers. Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas concentrated the highest rate of patients with severe toxic consumption. A significant proportion of earlier tumors was only seen in the larynx and oral cavity (54% and 41% Stages I-II, respectively). On the other hand, hypopharyngeal carcinoma, oropharyngeal carcinoma and nasopharyngeal carcinomas were mainly diagnosed in advanced stages.