Malignant hypopharngeal tumors: epidemiological study from the north of Iraq

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the epidemiology of malignant hypopharyngeal tumors in the northern provinces of Iraq. A retrospective study was conducted involving patients with malignant hypopharyngeal tumors that were classified according to the TNM staging system. The data were collected through reviewing the files of patients over 10 years. These patients were treated in the Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Hospital, Mosul, Iraq for the period from January 1991 to December 2000. The parameters analyzed included age, sex, tumor site, stage and histopathology of the lesion. The study included 44 patients with malignant hypopharyngeal tumors [28 males and 16 females; M F= 1.71]. The average age was 52.3 years with a range of 28 to 80 years. Malignant hypopharyngeal tumors constituted 0.36% and 2.57% of all body and head and neck tumors respectively. The average age of the patients was 52.3 years. The peak age incidence was in the 4th decade of life in women and in the 6th decade in men. The pyriform fossa was more involved than other regions comprising 59% whereas the postcricoid and posterior pharyngeal wall were 36% and 5% respectively. Histological examination revealed that all hypopharyngeal tumors were squamous cell carcinoma. Overall, the incidence of nodal metastases at presentation was 36%. Malignant hypopharyngeal tumors are rare tumors in the north of Iraq occurring most often in men. The incidence of nodal metastases significantly increased with pyriform fossa tumors and with poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma