Pattern of Head and Neck Cancer Presentation and Management in a Tertiary Hospital in Owerri, South- East Nigeria

Background: Head and neck cancers are increasingly becoming a prominent part of oncological practice in Nigeria due to increasing awareness and advances in this area of practice. Tumours of the head and neck region make up about 5-30% of all tumours in the body and often constitute a burden that impacts their sufferers physically, socially, financially and psychologically. In addition, there has been enormous challenges in the management of these conditions in a developing setting such as ours. The study aimed at assessing the pattern of presentation and management of head and neck cancers cases that presented at Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Nigeria. Materials and methods: The study is a 5-year retrospective analysis of all head and neck cancer cases that presented to the ENT Department of Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Nigeria between January 2015 and December 2019. Data was extracted from patients’ case files, sorted and analyzed with SPSS version 25.0. Results: A total of sixty-eight (68) head and neck cancer cases were seen over the period, however fifteen (15) cases had incomplete records therefore only fifty-three (53) cases were analyzed. A M:F ratio of 1.3:1 was recorded with the mean age of the patients being 53.5±14.0 years. The mean duration of presenting complaints was 12.2±9.2months. The commonest site of cancer among the patients was the larynx (26.3%) while the commonest histological diagnosis was Squamous cell carcinoma (54.5%). Majority of patients (94.3%) presented with advanced disease (stages III and IV). \The commonest modalities of treatment were surgery alone (35.9%) and chemoradiation therapy (33.9%). Outcome of treatment at 3 months was satisfactory in 43.4%. About 15.1% of the patients did not attend follow up clinics after treatment while 3 patients (5.7%) died within 3 months of treatment. Conclusion: The pattern of presentation and principles of management of head and neck cancers in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri over recent years are similar to those of contemporary facilities around the region and country. The challenges facing the management of these cases include late presentation, financial paucity, poor social support system and poor follow up culture.