Differential Characteristics of Patients With Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck According to Gender

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyse the trend in the percentage of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) of female gender over the last decades, and differences in survival according to gender. Material and methodsRetrospective study of 5828 SCCHN diagnosed during the period 1985–2019. In the survival analysis we only included only patients with more than two years of follow-up. ResultsThe proportion of tumours in female patients increased significantly over the study period. There was greater increase of tumours located in the oral cavity, oropharynx and larynx in the percentage of female patients. When considering the total number of patients, there were no significant differences in disease-specific survival according to gender. We observed a variable behaviour of disease-specific survival according to gender depending on the primary location of the tumour. For tumours of the larynx and oropharynx the female patients had a disease-specific survival significantly higher than that of men, while for tumours of the oral cavity, the female patients had a significant reduction of disease-specific survival. ConclusionsIn our setting, the percentage of female patients with HNSCC has been increasing steadily over recent decades. There were differences in disease-specific survival according to gender depending on the location of the primary tumour.