Prevalence of metastases in patients with head and neck tumors in a public radiotherapy service

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of metastasis and survival rate of patients diagnosed and treated with head and neck cancer and associate them with possible risk factors.
Methods: Medical records (June 2013 to April 2020) of patients diagnosed with head and neck tumors treated in the radiotherapy department of a public hospital were retrospectively evaluated. Three hundred and fifty-one patients were selected, and data regarding the patient, disease and treatment were collected and analyzed descriptively. The association between the independent variables and outcomes was determined by univariate analysis using crude odds ratios. Variables with a p-value <0.20 in the univariate analysis were included in a Cox regression model by the stepwise forward method. Kaplan-Meier analyses were also performed.
Results: Three hundred and one medical records were included, and most participants were male (84.1%) with a mean age of 63.62 years (±12.19). Eighty-three patients died (27.6%) and 56 (18.6%) developed metastases. A significant association (p=0.046) was found between alcoholism/smoking and death. The presence of metastasis (p=0.039) and advanced staging (p=0.021) also showed an association, increasing the risk of death by over two-fold.
Conclusion: A high prevalence of metastasis was found in the patients evaluated, which was a risk factor for death. Other variables also influenced the survival rate of the participating individuals.