[Distribution of sites of cancers of the mouth cavity and oropharynx].

The spread of carcinomas in the oral cavity and the oropharynx was evaluated in a retrospective study. In 306 subjects the malignancies involved 1082 areas. The present authors concentrated on malignancy distributions in their study and found interesting results in the right-left ratios: carcinomas of the oral cavity alone (n = 122) had a local right-left distribution of 3:2. Carcinomas affecting both the oral cavity and the oropharynx (n = 12) showed no asymmetry. Carcinomas of the oropharynx alone (n = 55) had a local right-left distribution of 2:3. The authors speculate that apart from endogenous disposition factors these asymmetries in carcinoma occurrence are due to the fact that the majority of smokers are right-handed.