MELO, Letícia de Cássia et al. Epidemiological profile of incident cases of oral and pharyngeal cancer. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) []. 2010, 58, 3, pp. 351-355. ISSN 1981-8637.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological profile of a cohort of patients diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer in a High Complexity Oncology Center (level II) in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, from January 2005 to December 2007. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on the retrospective and descriptive analysis of 101 medical records. RESULTS: Of the 101 patients 84.2% were males with low education levels, of which 35.8% were blue-collar workers and 15.8% were females, of which 5.5% were homemakers. The gender ratio was 5.3:1 and the mean age of the sample was 56.5 years. The age of 49.5% of the individuals at diagnosis was below the mean age of the group. Regarding risk factors, 67.1% were smokers and 49.3% were alcoholics; 60% of the sample reported drinking distilled beverages (47.3%) daily. The most common sites were the tongue (32%), oropharynx (18.5%) and floor of mouth (12.4%). Staging at diagnosis revealed that 39.4% were T4, 38.3% were N2 and 91.4% were M0. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of malignant oral lesions was late: 39.4% of the sample was in stage T4. Thus, for diagnostic opportunities not to be missed, it is necessary to train health professionals so that they can address the factors of prevention and early diagnosis. It is also necessary to develop routines in health services to detect suspicious lesions since some physicians and dentists are unable to recognize cancerous lesions.

: epidemiology; risk factors; mouth neoplasms; pharyngeal neoplasms.