Head and neck cancer in Saudi Arabia: retrospective analysis of 65 patients.

A total of 65 patients with confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' mean age was 48.6 years and 64.6% were males, with 41.5% of patients being Smokers and 26.2% users of chewable tobacco, pepper and oil. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma was the most common site (43.1%), with 41.5% of patients having poorly differentiated tumours, and 38.5% were diagnosed as stage III and 13.8% as stage IV. The survival probability was calculated to be 74% at 24 months and the multivariate regression model of Cox showed that advanced stage (stage III or IV) and omission of radiotherapy adversely influenced survival. It is concluded that the data should be used for future comparisons with those accruing from those current prospective trials.