Oral and pharyngeal cancers in Yemen: A retrospective study

Abstract

Hospital-based studies have revealed very high relative frequencies of oral and pharyngeal cancers in Yemen. This study estimated the relative frequencies of oral and pharyngeal cancers among Yemeni cancer patients registered in 2007 and 2008 and determined patients' demographic and tumour characteristics. Of the registered 7515 cases, 302 (4.0%) were oral cancer and 239 (3.2%) pharyngeal cancer. Oral cancer was significantly more frequent among females while pharyngeal cancer was significantly more frequent among males. Oral cancer patients were significantly older than pharyngeal cancer patients. The tongue was the most affected oral site (53.6%) while the nasopharynx comprised 89.5% of pharyngeal cancers. The most frequent morphological type was squamous cell carcinoma (93.2%). High proportions of oral cancer (71.5%) and pharyngeal cancer (77.4%) patients were diagnosed at advanced stages. Compared with other countries in the region, oral cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer represent substantial national health burdens in Yemen.