Clinical manifestations of head and neck cancer in pediatric patients, an analysis of 253 cases in a single Brazilian center.
Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal
; 27(3): e285-e293, 2022 May 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35368009
BACKGROUND: Pediatric head and neck cancer (PHNC) is rare and its nonspecific clinical manifestations may often lead to delayed diagnosis. We aimed to describe the signs, symptoms, and clinicopathological characteristics of PHNC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for all PHNC cases diagnosed from 1986 to 2016 affecting patients aged 19-years and younger from a tertiary referral center in Brazil. Demographic variables, anatomical site of primary tumors, histopathological diagnoses, signs and symptoms, and patterns of misdiagnosis were collected and interpreted by statistical and descriptive analysis. RESULTS: A total of 253 PHNC cases were included. The mean age was 9.3 years and male patients were more frequently affected (60.9%). Burkitt lymphoma (23.7%), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (15.8%), and rhabdomyosarcoma (15.4%) were the most common cancer types. The nasopharynx (28.9%), cervical/lymph node region (25.3%), and craniofacial bones (8.3%) were the predominant anatomical sites. Tumor/swelling (68.4%), was the clinical finding often presented. The univariable analysis showed association between tumor histology and clinical variables such as sex (p=0.022), age (p<0.0001), anatomical location (p<0.0001) tumor/swelling (p=0.034), pain (p=0.031), systemic/general manifestations (p=0.004), nasal/breathing alterations (p=0.012), orbital/ocular alterations (p<0.0001). Misdiagnosis such as tonsillitis, otitis, and abscess were frequent. CONCLUSIONS: Although the clinical findings of PHNC are often unspecific, this study provided signs and symptoms with significant correlations between tumor histology. The suspicion of malignancy should be considered when the main signs and symptoms reported here appear and persist, in order to conduct a timely diagnosis.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Rabdomiosarcoma
/
Neoplasias de Cabeza y Cuello
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
Límite:
Child
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal
Asunto de la revista:
ODONTOLOGIA
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
España