Frequency of Head and Neck Cancers in Children and Adolescents in an Iranian Population From 1989 to 2009

Background: A small number of malignant tumors occur during childhood and adolescence. The frequency of such tumors in these age groups is evaluated in only a few studies. Objectives: We aimed to determine the frequency of head and neck cancers in a population of Iranian children and adolescents. Patients and Methods: The records of patients ≤ 19 years old, suffering from head and neck cancers, were reviewed in the pathology centers of Hamadan province from 1989 to 2009. Patients with central nervous system tumors, thyroid and melanoma were excluded. Data were collected based on age, sex and lesion location and statistical analysis was performed. Results: Among the study population (3368 cases of head and neck cancer), 75 cases (2.22%) belonged to children and adolescents aged between 0 - 19. The Mean ± SD age of the patients was 13 ± 5.6 (range: 2 months, 19 years). The most common cancers were non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (23%), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (20%), and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (14.7%). Malignant oral and maxillofacial tumors account for only 18.7% of all head and neck tumors. Conclusions: Carcinomas were the most common malignant tumors of head and neck observed in this age group. Also, oral cancers in children and adolescents constitute a small percentage of the lesions that were studied