1991 Volume 1991 Issue Supplement41 Pages 50-59
Between January 1980 and December 1987,810 cases of head and neck cancer were treated in our department. Regions included the larynx in 231 cases, tongue in 197, maxillary sinus in 93, hypopharynx in 80, mesopharynx in 71, and nasopharynx in 66 cases, and others. The sex ratio (M/F) was 3.1 and most patients in their 60's. Thirty-four cases involved patients over 80 years of age. About these cases, Radiation therapy was used in 17cases, surgical treatment in 9, radiation plus surgical treatment in 1, and palliative treatment in 9 cases. In the radical treatment group (n=25), median survival was 29 months, while the latter was 11.5 months for the palliative treatment group (n=9). In 120 cases of head and neck cancer, upper gastrointestinal tract screening by endoscopy using Lugol stain was performed. This screening allowed us to detect esophageal cancers in 7 cases and gastric cancer in 2.
Radical treatm ent should be actively pursued even with elderly patients unless impossible, and upper gastrointestinal tract screening of patients with head and neck cancer is very important.
