Epidemiological aspects of head and neck cancers in a group of Iranian population.

Statement of Problem: Head and neck cancers occur in a wide variety of tissue types and sites, resulting in a complex range of malignancies cared by physicians in multiple specialties. Epidemiologic aspects of head and neck cancer in Iran have not been studied adequately. Purpose: The aim of this study was to represent epidemiological aspects of head and neck cancers in Kerman province in Iran. Materials and Method: In this retrospective epidemiological study, a total of 2211 cases of head and neck cancers were diagnosed in period 11-year. Data on all malignant head and neck cancers were included in this study. Information was obtained from the records of the 18 departments of histopathology in Kerman province. Results: The five most common sites were skin of the head and neck (46.81%), lymph nodes of head and neck (13.98%), larynx (13.48%), oral cavity and pharynx (12.21%), and thyroid (6.20%). Paranasal sinuses were the least common. The incidence rate of head and neck cancers was 10.12/100000 cases. Conclusion: Geographical or regional variations in the prevalence of head and neck cancer indicate that the socio-cultural lifestyles of a population play an important role in head and neck carcinogenesis. This study showed that the incidence rate of head and neck cancers was lower than that in many other countries. However, comparison between our findings with some other studies shows a relation consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]