Prevalence of Head and Neck Cancer in Gilan Province, Iran: A 10-Year Study

Background and aim: Head and neck cancers are the tenth most common cancers worldwide. Since these cancers can cause severe complications and mortality, early diagnosis and investigation of their prevalence in various regions may be life-saving. Therefore, this study evaluated the prevalence of head and neck cancer over a 10-year period in Gilan province, Iran. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective and descriptive study based on the data collected from the Cancer Registry Center of Gilan province, Iran, during 1999-2008. The data included age, sex, cancer type, and location of the lesion. Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS13 software program.  Results: Of 2335 cases of head and neck cancer, 736 cases (59%) were detected in men and 511 cases (41%) were found in women. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (42.6%) and Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (23.04%) were the most prevalent types of cancer. These cancers mostly occurred during the seventh and eighth decades of life. The most common locations were the esophagus and cervical lymph nodes. Conclusion: In the current survey, head and neck cancers comprised 18% of all the malignancies (2335 cases out of a total of 12830 cases), which differs from the results obtained worldwide. This difference may be due to the difference in registry centers and varied risk factors in each country. In our survey, SCC was the most common head and neck malignancy, followed by BCC, which is similar to the results of the majority of the related studies.