Demographic and clinicopathologic distribution of head and neck malignant tumors in pediatric patients from a Brazilian population: A retrospective study

• Published in: Journal of oral pathology & medicine Vol. 47; no. 7; pp. 696 - 705
• Main Authors: Arboleda, Lady Paola Aristizabal, Hoffmann, Iva Loureiro, Cardinalli, Izilda Aparecida, Santos‐Silva, Alan Roger, Mendonça, Regina Maria Holanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Brazil - epidemiology; Burkitt's lymphoma; Cancer; Carcinoma - epidemiology; Carcinoma - pathology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Dentistry; Female; Head & neck cancer; head and neck; Head and Neck Neoplasms - epidemiology; Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology; Health risk assessment; Hodgkin's lymphoma; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Lymph nodes; Lymphoma; Lymphoma - epidemiology; Lymphoma - pathology; Male; malignancies; Medical records; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Nasopharynx; neoplasms; Pediatrics; Population studies; Retrospective Studies; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Sarcoma; Sarcoma - epidemiology; Sarcoma - pathology; Sclerosis; Thyroid; Time Factors; Topography; Tumors; Young Adult; Brazil; malignancies; head and neck; neoplasms; children
• ISSN: 0904-2512; 1600-0714
• DOI: 10.1111/jop.12724

Background The incidence of pediatric head and neck cancer (PHNC) is increasing worldwide, especially when compared with childhood cancer in general. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the demographic profile of such patients across the globe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe demographic, topographic, and histopathological features of PHNC patients from a single Brazilian institution. Methods Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for all cancer cases diagnosed from 1986 to 2016 affecting patients aged 19 years and younger. The demographic variables (age, gender, race), topographic aspects of primary tumors, and histopathological diagnoses were collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results Three hundred and sixty‐seven (5.11%) head and neck malignant tumors were found among 7181 pediatric cancers diagnosed in this period. Mean age at diagnosis was 9.35 years with male (65.67%) predominance. Patients between the age group of 10‐14 years presented the higher prevalence of malignant tumors. In terms of race, 73.02% of the patients were white and 9.54% were black. The main affected anatomic site was the neck and lymph nodes (41.42%), followed by nasopharynx (22.89%) and thyroid gland (6.54%). The most common cancer type was lymphoma (52.86%), followed by carcinoma (22.89%), and sarcoma (19.07%). Burkitt lymphoma, nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma were the most common histopathological diagnoses (16.62%, 13.08%, 12.81%, and 12.81%, respectively). Conclusion This study originally demonstrated that lymphomas may be more frequent than carcinomas and sarcomas in Brazilian PHNC patients.