Introduction: The aim of the study was to analyse the risk factors for oral cavity and oropharynx cancer in peopled examined
under the Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week in 2016, Lodz.
Material and methods. In Lodz, 21st September 2016, under the Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, 106 people,
including 67 women aged 29–77 and 39 men aged 23–84, underwent preventive examinations in the hospital department.
Prior to the laryngological examination, the patients were asked to answer questions that referred to their education,
medical case history, symptoms, smoking habits with the number of cigarettes per day, alcohol intake, the
number of lifetime sexual partners, oral sex engagement, incidents of head and neck cancer in the family history.
Results: The major part of the examined patients were women and men with the secondary and high level of education,
47,76% and 35,82%, and 58,97% and 35,91% respectively. The patients were informed by mass media about
the planned preventive medical examinations – 80,60% women and 79,49% men. The most common symptoms
reported by women were: hoarse voice in 61,19% cases, dysphagia in 32,84% cases and burning sensation and/or
pain in the oral cavity in 29,85% cases. The examined male patients mainly showed hoarse voice (46,15%), other
symptoms (43,59%) and dysphagia (25,64%). 28,35% women and 28,20% men smoked cigarettes, while passive
smokers were 22,38% and 25,64% respectively. Alcohol consumption was reported by 67,16% women and 82,05%
men, rather occasionally. Having oral sex was noted in 25,37% women and 38,46% men, mostly with multiple sexual
partners. Among the studied patients, 13,43% women and 5,12% men suffered from malignant cancer, including
2,98% women and 2,56% men who reported head and neck carcinoma in the medical interview. On the basis of
the interview and ENT examination, 11,94% women and 17,94% men were qualified for the extended oncological
diagnostics.
Conclussion. The Fourth Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week shows the increased interest in preventive screening,
especially oncological screening, and thus the necessity of such preventive activities in the future.
Dietary glycaemic index, glycaemic load and head and neck cancer risk: a pooled analysis in an international consortium