Head and neck tumours

Main article: Cancer (cancer)

Types of head cancer

The most common types of head and neck tumors are:

• cancer of the lip and oral mucosa,
• nasopharyngeal cancer,
• cancer of other pharyngeal regions.

Lip cancer

Cancer of the red border of the lip is caused mainly by chronic trauma of the lip and exposure to sunlight. Although smoking is also a risk factor for lip cancer.

Oral cancer

Main article: Oral cancer

Morbidity and mortality

2023:90% of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients are smokers

Approximately 90% of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients globally are. smokers This is evidenced by the results of the study, published at the end of June 2023.

According to the British medical journal The Lancet, of the 34 known risk factors for cancer (alcohol, overweight, air pollution, chemical and biological factors, etc.), cigarette smoking has the most detrimental effect. It is estimated that approximately 33.9% of malignant tumors occur due to the use of nicotine-containing products. Of these, the most common types of cancer are laryngeal cancer and lung cancer.

90% of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients are smokers

Smoking is one of the leading risk factors for the development of squamous cell carcinoma, including its various types - mouth, larynx, oropharynx, larynx. Patients with proven malignancies are active smokers. Continuing smoking during therapy negatively affects the quality of the treatment itself, such patients develop much more local complications, "said Dmitry Reshetov, oncologist, candidate of medical sciences, associate professor of the Department of Oncology and Radiation Therapy of the Moscow State Medical University named after A.I. Evdokimova.

Research suggests that smoking increases the risk of developing malignant tumors by 4-5 times. In smokers, the risk of developing cancer of the oral mucosa is doubled, and laryngeal cancer - 10 times. The intensity and length of smoking have a great influence on the likelihood of cancer. So, when smoking at least a pack of cigarettes a day, the risk of oropharyngeal cancer increases 2.1 times. At the same time, for persons with experience in using nicotine-containing products for more than 20 years, the likelihood of cancer will grow by about half.^[1]

2011-2018

Morbidity and mortality figures are growing every year. In Russia, from 2011 to 2018, the mortality rate of patients within a year from the moment of diagnosis of malignant neoplasm was every year:

• 40-42% mortality from pharyngeal cancer,
• 31-37% of oral cancer and
• 4-5% for lip cancer.

"Very high mortality in the first year of diagnosis. This is mainly due to the fact that patients come to treatment late, while patients are often not tuned to treatment, and some cannot stand it. Their state is complicated by the fact that the majority cannot take the drugs and food through a mouth, besides at such patients the neuropatichesky component of pain prevails, there are psychological problems which are connected with appearance and even a smell", - the senior research associate of office of radiation therapy with modification of MNIOI of P.A. Herzen Artem Gevorkov told in 2021.

Average portrait of a sick person

Patients with head and neck tumors are different from other cancer patients, doctors said. First of all, they are exhausted and often have a number of other diseases: cardiovascular pathologies, metabolic disorders, endocrine pathologies, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological diseases, pathologies of the respiratory system, renal failure, immunodeficiency.

"A certain average portrait of our patient: a smoker with an experience of 30-40 pack/years, exhausted, often with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, continues to smoke, sometimes consume alcohol. Therefore quality of life at them inevitably low", - the senior research associate of office of radiation therapy with modification of MNIOI of P.A. Herzen Artem Gevorkov told in 2021.

The oncologist said that 57% of patients with head and neck tumors previously drank, 37% continue to drink, 17-29% smoke, 65-67% previously smoked. Of these, 29-32% drink and 22-33% smoke 20-30 cigarettes a day. Among smokers there are more young patients, many working and unmarried.

get a patient with an already advanced stage of the disease. At the same time, there is a primary link, where the patient first gets - dentists, therapists. Ideally, these specialists should be provided with methodological recommendations in order to focus on abandoning bad habits at the first appeal, "said Sufiya Safina, head of the chemotherapy department of the RKOD

Treatment of head tumors

For 2021, there is still no universal and effective treatment for head and neck tumors.

The prognosis of treatment efficacy and survival for such patients is ambiguous. A sick person who smoked and quit has a better prognosis for survival. 50-83% of cancer patients continue to smoke after diagnosis. Against the background of smoking, they have a decrease in the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy, wounds heal worse, and the frequency of infections increases.

"In surgery, the main point is not only surgery, but also the postoperative period. And here complications, including those caused by exposure to bad habits, are a problem for surgeons. If we talk about microsurgery, then it is often not carried out for patients with head and neck tumors, because there are many contraindications, "said oncologist, surgeon Andrei Rudyk

Such patients, according to oncologists, definitely need accompanying therapy - consultations of a psychologist, regular sanitation of the oral cavity, healthy diet, pain relief, wound healing. And, of course, avoiding smoking and alcohol consumption.

Oncologists agreed that an important factor is the patient's responsibility for his health, his motivation for recovery. Also, an important step can be the creation of visual aids that will make it easier for doctors to reduce the harm from smoking.

Notes