Joshi Poonam, Dutta Sourav, Chaturvedi Pankaj, Nair Sudhir
Head and Neck Surgery, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India.
Rambam Maimonides Med J. 2014 Apr 28;5(2):e0009. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10143. eCollection 2014 Apr.
Head and neck cancers are the most common cancers in developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia. Head and neck cancers are more common in males compared to females. This is mainly attributed to tobacco, areca nut, alcohol, etc. Oral cancers are most common amongst all head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC). HNSCC in the developing world differ from those in the Western world in terms of age, site of disease, etiology, and molecular biology. Poverty, illiteracy, advanced stage at presentation, lack of access to health care, and poor treatment infrastructure pose a major challenge in management of these cancers. The annual GDP (gross domestic product) spent on health care is very low in developing countries compared to the developed countries. Cancer treatment leads to a significant financial burden on the cancer patients and their families. Several health programs have been implemented to curb this rising burden of disease. The main aims of these health programs are to increase awareness among people regarding tobacco and to improve access to health care facilities, early diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care.
头颈癌是发展中国家最常见的癌症，尤其是在东南亚地区。与女性相比，头颈癌在男性中更为常见。这主要归因于烟草、槟榔、酒精等。口腔癌在所有头颈鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）中最为常见。发展中国家的HNSCC在年龄、疾病部位、病因和分子生物学方面与西方世界的有所不同。贫困、文盲、就诊时处于晚期、缺乏医疗保健服务以及治疗基础设施薄弱，对这些癌症的管理构成了重大挑战。与发达国家相比，发展中国家每年用于医疗保健的国内生产总值（GDP）非常低。癌症治疗给癌症患者及其家庭带来了巨大的经济负担。已经实施了多项卫生项目来遏制这种不断上升的疾病负担。这些卫生项目的主要目标是提高人们对烟草的认识，并改善获得医疗保健设施、早期诊断、治疗和姑息治疗的机会。
