Frequency evaluation of head and neck neoplasms in age group less than 20 years in Isfahan City, Iran, during a 10-year period (2006-2015)

Abstract

Background: Head and neck tumors in children have been reported and compared to similar tumors in adults; these tumors reveal significant differences in histological and clinical conditions and treatments. Malignancies of head and neck in children have been the subject of a few studies and the major problem in the conclusion of these studies is the lack of same or similar parameters in them. This study aimed to determine the frequency of head and neck neoplasms in age group less than 20 years in Isfahan City, Iran, during a 10-year period. Methods: In this retrospective descriptive study, files related to patients with head and neck malignancies, holding in department of oral and maxillofacial pathology of Isfahan Dentistry School and archive of three related hospital in Isfahan City (Alzahra, Seiedoshohada, and Kashani) were studied. All the data were extracted and analyzed using chi-square statistical test at the significant level of P < 0.05. Findings: From all 143 cases, 86 cases were girls and 57 were boys. Thyroid (papillary) carcinoma with 60 cases and nasopharyngeal and cervical lymph nodes lymphoma with 35 cases were the most common malignancies. Distribution of patients according to the type of malignancy a significant difference between the first and second 5-year periods (P = 0.020). Conclusion: Results show that the most common malignant lesions such as thyroid carcinoma and nasopharyngeal lymphoma were similar to previous studies. In addition, the prevalence of thyroid carcinoma was 5 times more among the girls and the prevalence of nasopharyngeal and lymph nodes lymphoma was 2 times more among the boys; these results were similar to other previous studies, too. © 2017, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.