A ten-year retrospective study of the clinical, sociodemographic, and survival characteristics of patients with oral and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas/ Estudo retrospectivo de dez anos das características clínicas, sociodemográficas e de sobrevida de pacientes com carcinomas epidermóides orais e faríngeos

Objective: This study evaluated the epidemiological profile of patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, as well compared oral and pharyngeal lesions regarding the survival of these patients. Material and Methods: Convenience sampling was employed to select the participants, who had their medical records of the period 200-2009 investigated. Sociodemographic and clinical-pathological data were collected and correlated with site of the lesion, TMN classification, of the tumor, and survival of the patients. Fisher’s and Chi-square tests, Kaplan-Meir curve associated with the Long Rank Mantel-Cox test, and Cox’s regression for survival analysis were performed to evaluate the results. Results: Sixty-year-old illiterate females presented higher prevalence of oral cancer with a more severe lymphonodular infiltration, worse tumor staging, and chemo and radiotherapy treatment. Meanwhile, sixty-year-old illiterate males presented higher prevalence of pharyngeal cancer, lower rates of lymphonodular infiltration, and chirurgical treatment. The survival of the patients with oral cancer was correlated with the lymphonodular infiltration level, while for patients with pharyngeal cancer the survival was correlated with chirurgical treatment. Thus, head and neck cancer are still diagnosed belatedly, mainly when it affects the pharynx.Conclusion: Therefore, preventive and educative strategies, as well as amplification of access to health care should be considered targets for achieving reduction in the mortality rates of populations with oropharyngeal cancer