Demers Imke, Verhees Femke, Schouten Leo J, Muris Jean Wm, Kremer Bernd, Speel Ernst Jan M
Department of Pathology, GROW-school for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, GROW-school for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
BJGP Open. 2022 Mar 22;6(1). doi: 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0080. Print 2022 Mar.
The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is increasing in high income countries. HPV-associated OPC generally presents as an invasive disease, often with lymph node involvement, in relatively young patients with minimal or no history of smoking and alcohol consumption. Knowledge on HPV-associated OPC among primary care professionals is essential for disease recognition and early start of treatment.
To examine the knowledge on HPV-associated OPC among GPs in the Netherlands.
DESIGN & SETTING: A cross-sectional postal survey among GPs in the Netherlands.
A 12-item questionnaire was sent to 900 randomly selected general practices. Outcome measures included awareness of the link between HPV and OPC, epidemiological trends, and patient characteristics. Data were statistically analysed for sex, years after graduation, and self-rated knowledge of OPC.
A total of 207 GPs participated in this study. Seventy-two per cent recognised HPV as a risk factor for OPC and 76.3% were aware of the increasing incidence rate of HPV-associated OPC. In contrast, 35.7% of participants knew that patients with HPV-associated OPC are more often male, and just over half (53.6%) of the participants were aware of the younger age of these patients.
More than one-quarter of GPs in the Netherlands are unaware of HPV as a causative factor for OPC. Furthermore, there is a gap in knowledge on characteristics of patients with HPV-associated OPC . Further training on these topics could improve disease recognition and, ultimately, patient survival.
在高收入国家，人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）相关的口咽癌（OPC）发病率正在上升。HPV相关的OPC通常表现为侵袭性疾病，常伴有淋巴结受累，多见于吸烟和饮酒史极少或无此病史的相对年轻患者。基层医疗专业人员对HPV相关OPC的了解对于疾病识别和早期治疗启动至关重要。
研究荷兰全科医生对HPV相关OPC的了解情况。
对荷兰全科医生进行的横断面邮政调查。
向900个随机选择的普通诊所发送一份包含12个项目的问卷。结果指标包括对HPV与OPC之间联系的认识、流行病学趋势以及患者特征。对性别、毕业年限和自我评定的OPC知识的数据进行统计学分析。
共有207名全科医生参与了本研究。72%的人认识到HPV是OPC的一个危险因素，76.3%的人知晓HPV相关OPC的发病率在上升。相比之下，35.7%的参与者知道HPV相关OPC患者男性更为常见，略超过一半（53.6%）的参与者知晓这些患者年龄较轻。
荷兰超过四分之一的全科医生未意识到HPV是OPC的致病因素。此外，对HPV相关OPC患者特征的了解存在差距。关于这些主题的进一步培训可以提高疾病识别能力，并最终提高患者生存率。
