Descriptive epidemiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in Puerto Ricans

This study comprised 134 patients who had developed head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC), and attended the cancer clinics of the Otolaryngology Department at the Isaac González Martínez Oncologic Hospital between August 1993 and November 1995. In-person interviews, and medical record review of the HNSCC patients provided data on demography, family history of cancer, history of a second primary cancer, history of environmental, tobacco and ethanol exposure, and current disease status. The average age at the time of diagnosis was 62.3 (range 18-94), and eighty percent of the subjects were male. Most (59%) of the patients had moderately differentiated tumors and 14% had a recurrence of the carcinoma. The most frequent primary site in males was the laryngeal area, and the oral cavity in females. Exposure to alcohol and smoking were identified as predisposing factors in 95% of the patients.