Abstract
A retrospective analysis identified 16 children (under 20 years), 11 male and 5 female, with malignant tumors of the head and neck evaluated at our Department from 1980 to 1992. Primary malignant neoplasms of the head and neck in children were not common, accounting for about 0.5 per cent of all our head and neck malignancies. In terms of anatomic location, the nasopharynx was the most common site of presentation. Ten children had nonepithelial malignancies, six had epithelial carcinoma. The two most common malignancies were lymphomas (n= 5) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (n=4), and a variety of tumors composed the remainder. The epithelial carcinoma tended to increase incidence at puberty, although the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas could occur at any childhood age. The five children who were alive without disease for more than 5 years, demonstrated no serious late effects on day-to-day activities. Now, with the introduction of multimodality treatment regimens, the children can expect long-term survival. It is only through the combined efforts of all specialties involved that the most appropriate treatment modality can prevent suffering late effects and organ disorder will realize. Due to the increase of long-term survivors, the survey of quality of life of cured children is considered to be essential.
