Head and neck cancers: Regional trends in Kashmir

Abstract

Background: The current study is a prospective study conducted in the department of otorhinolaryngology Government Medical College and associated Hospitals Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir for 1½ year. The aim of the study was to study the loco-regional pattern of head and neck cancers (HNCs) in our society which is different from the rest of the country with its unique environment, different sociocultural habits and customs. Material and Methods: All patients of HNCs who reported to our department were enrolled in the study. Metastatic carcinomas to head and neck from other sites and carcinoma with unknown primary were excluded from the study. Results: A total of 99 cases of HNCs were received at our tertiary care institute. The most common tumor encountered was thyroid cancer. The most common thyroid cancer was papillary carcinoma of thyroid, constituting 35% of total HNCs. Thyroid cancers were followed by head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCCs). Seventy percent of thyroid cancer patients presented with symptoms of neck swelling while as only 35% had lymph node metastasis, all of papillary thyroid cancer type. The majority of thyroid cancers (86%) belonged to stage 1st irrespective of cancer type (43/50), six patients (12%) were stage 2nd, and only one patient (2%) had stage 3rd. There was no stage 4th tumor in any patient with thyroid cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma of larynx (20.40%) was most common HNSCC. It was observed that the most of the patients of HNSCC had advanced stages of disease at presentation, with almost 60% of patients having T3-T4 stage and more than half of patients (53.84%) had palpable neck nodes. Conclusion: The study pointed out about the influence of environmental factors, local customs, and cultural habits on the nature and type of cancers and thus different cancer incidences and prevalences in different geographical areas.