Head and Neck Cancer: Is it a Problem among Yemeni Patients? [A five year retrospective study]

Head and neck cancer is a complex subject with many different sites and staging systems. It is a devastating tumor with numerous repercussions both for the medical system and for the individual patient with a rising incidence rate in most regions of the world where tobacco use and alcohol consumption is high. In Yemen, data on this cancer are few. The aim of the present paper is to describe the pattern of major head and neck cancers registered in Aden Cancer Registry as regards cancer type, age and sex distribution, residency, and incidence rate. The registered cancers during the period 1[st] of January 1997 through 31[st] of December 2001 were analyzed to describe the pattern of head and neck cancers [oral cavity, pharynx, nasal cavity, larynx, paranasal sinuses and salivary glands, ICD 000-148 and 300-329]. Canreg-3 and Epi-lnfo software were used in the analysis of data. Classification and coding of the neoplasm were carried out according to the ICD-O and ICD- 10. The study showed that head and neck cancers occupy the forth position among all registered cancers. Oral cancer was the most frequent registered cancer [36.3%], followed by nasopharyngeal cancer [31.6%] and laryngeal cancer [19.3%]. Sex distribution showed that about two-thirds of cases occurred among males [36.7%]. The incidence of these cancers increases with increasing age up to the age of 40-<60 years. Among males, the highest age-specific incidence rate of all head and neck cancers was observed at the age 55-64 years and the highest one was for laryngeal cancer, followed by oral cancer [9.3 and 7.1 per 100.000 inhabitants respectively]. For females, the highest age-specific incidence rate was observed mostly at later age; 65-74 years for oral and nasopharyngeal cancers and 75 years and more for nasal cavity cancer with the highest age-specific incidence rate of 13.2 per 100.000 inhabitants for oral cancer. We concluded that head and neck cancers are among the leading cancers in our community. The increase of awareness about the early warning signs of these cancers for their early detection and management. The need for further larger studies to investigate the community-related risk factors and the survival of patients are pointed out