Delayed presentation of patients with head and neck cancer at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi

Objectives: To assess the factors responsible for delayed presentation of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care center in Karachi.




Methods: It is a cross sectional, observational study conducted at Patel Hospital Karachi through a validated questionnaire. A convenient sample of 145 patients with biopsy proven head and neck cancer was obtained. Tumors were staged according to AJCC classification (2010).Patients were categorized into early stage (I & II) and late stage (III & IV). Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS 19. Qualitative data was summarized by percentages. Chi squared tests were used to access the results.




Results: 55% of patients presented with stage IV. The very first symptom noticed by majority of the patients (41.4%) was non healing ulcer or sore. Majority of the patients (35.2%) noticed the first symptom within 6 months before seeking a health care professional.80% of patients had significant history of betel nut chewing habit. Majority of the patients reported that they would have presented earlier if they had been aware of the symptoms.85% of the patients thought that late presentation to the specialist could be avoided by spreading awareness regarding cancer through media.




Conclusions: The results depict that majority of the patients present at late stage to the specialist due to lack of awareness regarding signs & symptoms of head and neck cancers.