A Clinical and Demographic Study on Oropharyngeal Malignancies

ABSTRACT

Background: The aim of the study was to determine the distribution of oropharyngeal malignancies in terms of age, sex,personal habits, symptoms, site, histopathological type, and differentiation; and the modes of treatment adopted and its results.Materials and Methods: A total of 68 patients treated previously in the Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat of MNR MedicalCollege and Hospital were included in this study. Patients of all age groups and gender were included in the study. Patients withpersistent mass of the neck or throat or with symptoms suggesting oropharyngeal cancer were included in the study. Patientswith symptoms of chronic throat pain, difficulty swallowing, weight loss, earache, voice change, and blood-tinged saliva wereincluded in the study. Patients with severe cardiac, renal and pulmonary diseases were excluded from the study. Patientswith immunodeficiency diseases were excluded from the study. All the patients were initially evaluated by a detailed medicalhistory and comprehensive head and neck examination, which included flexible endoscope examination of the pharynx andlarynx in an outpatient department setting. Patients with suspicious looking lesions (tumors) of the oropharynx were biopsiedfor histopathological evaluation. All patients with a confirmed diagnosis of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma weresubjected to evaluation by a multidisciplinary treatment team. Imaging was done to evaluate the primary tumor, involvementof lymph nodes in the neck, and for evidence of metastatic cancer spread beyond the head and neck. The patients weresubjected to either computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging of the neck to evaluate the pharynx and lymphnodes in the neck.Observations and Results: Among the 68 patients, there were 41 males (60.29%) and 27 females (39.70%), with a male tofemale ratio of 1.51 1. The mean age was 55.63 ± 5.70 years. Thirty-seven patients (54.41%) were in 55–65 years, 24 patients(35.29%) in 45–55 years, and 7 patients (10.29%) were aged above 65 years. Malignant tumors of the tonsil were observedin 21/68 (30.88%), posterior one-third of the tongue in 17/68 (25%), soft palate in 10/68 (14.70%), valleculae in 10 (14.70%),and suprahyoid epiglottis in 6 (8.82%), and posterior pharyngeal wall in 4 (105.88%) of the patients.Conclusions: Oropharyngeal cancers are one of the most common malignant tumors of the aero-digestive tract. Males aremore commonly affected than females and usually in the 5th–6th decade of life. The incidence is rising in females also becauseof using smokeless tobacco products. The most common site was tonsil followed by posterior one-third of the tongue; the leastcommon site was posterior pharyngeal wall. Well-differentiated carcinoma was the most common histopathological finding.