[Malignant tumors of the oropharynx]

Data on 31 patient suffering from malignant tumors of oropharynx were analyzed during a 5 year period at the Clinic for otorhinolaryngologic diseases. Oropharynx carcinoma was pathohistologically diagnosed in all patients. It is an illness which occurs in older people, in 87% in patients older than 60 years of age, and mostly in males (9:1). 77.4% were smokers, 83.8% consumed alcohol while 38.7% were treated for alcoholism. The first and most frequent symptoms are odynophagia (58.1%) and dysphagia (38.7%). Metastases of lymph nodes of the neck were present in 64.5% of the sick at the time when sickness was diagnosed and all were ipsilateral. 25.8% of patients were surgically treated and 6 of them were also treated by radiation. 54.8% of patients were primarily treated with telecobalt therapy. Three year survival in 3 patients points to extremely negative localization of the malignant process with a bad course and outcome.