Correlation between symptoms and course duration of upper aerodigestive tract cancer at early and advanced stages.

UNLABELLED There still are many clinical and biological aspects of the natural history of cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract to be unveiled; which in Brazil is a direct consequence of the failure of systematic prevention and early diagnosis campaigns. OBJECTIVE To analyze the signs and symptoms presented by patients with the disease at initial and advanced stages. Other variables such as disease duration, general and nutritional status were considered. METHOD A historical cohort study with a cross-section involving 895 subjects with cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract. RESULTS Clinical findings were not statistically correlated with disease progression, nor with the disease in early stages, but it showed rapid disease development. CONCLUSION The results suggest a disease of insidious onset in the early stages and fast course afterwards. The long disease duration - greater than three months, was associated with worsening in general and nutritional states of patients.