Clinicopathological study of head and neck cancers in Ilorin, Nigeria

Eighty-nine cases of head and neck cancers were studied over a 5-year period (1997--2001) at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The most common cancer affecting the head and neck region was carcinoma which constituted 70.8% of all the cases studied. It was followed by the lymphomas and blastomas which accounted for 20.2% and 9%, respectively. The nose/paranasal sinuses were the most common site of primary cancer (18%) followed by thyroid (12.4%), nasopharynx (11.3%) and larynx (4.5%). Other sites include a hypopharynx (3.4%), eye (2.2%), palate (2.2%), tongue (2.2%), skin (1.1%), lip (1.1%), salivary gland (1.1%), oropharynx (1.1%). Cervical lymph node metastasis with unknown primary lesion was seen in 10.1%. The peak age incidence was in the fifth decade of life. The improvement in locoregional control of head and neck cancers over the last decades does not appear to modify the final survival of these patients. It is crucial to understand as accurately as possible the risk factors for these malignancies in order to improve primary prevention.