Fabian M C, Irish J C, Brown D H, Liu T C, Gullane P J
Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Program, University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Ontario.
J Otolaryngol. 1996 Apr;25(2):88-93.
It is well known that smoking, chewing tobacco, and alcohol play a significant role in the etiology of oral cancer. Although this is common knowledge in the medical community, it appears that patients are not aware of this association. We performed a prospective study on all patients newly diagnosed with oral cancer and a control group without any head and neck cancer. Patients completed a questionnaire assessing their awareness of these causative factors. Other parameters measured as possible influences of patient perception included patient age, sex, smoking status, education level, occupation, and place of residence. Patients were also questioned about their knowledge of the causes of lung cancer to allow for comparison. A total of 134 patients were questioned, with 22 of the patients assigned to the oral cancer group and the second group being comprised of 112 patients without head and neck cancer. Only 20 patients (14.9%) were aware of the causative factors of oral cancer. There was no significant difference in the knowledge of causation when comparing the cancer and control group. The patient age, sex, smoking status, or place of residence did not affect their knowledge of the causes of oral cancer. There was a highly significant difference between patients of different education levels and occupations, with the more educated and higher level occupations being better informed about the causes of oral cancer. In contrast, the majority of patients were aware of smoking as a causative factor in the development of lung cancer. The results from this study demonstrate a serious lack of knowledge in the general population of known causes of oral cancer. The relevant issues are discussed and recommendations are made.
众所周知，吸烟、嚼烟草和饮酒在口腔癌的病因中起着重要作用。尽管这在医学界是常识，但患者似乎并未意识到这种关联。我们对所有新诊断为口腔癌的患者以及一个无任何头颈癌的对照组进行了一项前瞻性研究。患者完成了一份评估他们对这些致病因素认知的问卷。作为患者认知可能影响因素而测量的其他参数包括患者年龄、性别、吸烟状况、教育水平、职业和居住地点。还询问了患者关于肺癌病因的知识以便进行比较。总共询问了134名患者，其中22名患者被分配到口腔癌组，第二组由112名无头颈癌的患者组成。只有20名患者（14.9%）知晓口腔癌的致病因素。在比较癌症组和对照组时，对病因的认知没有显著差异。患者的年龄、性别、吸烟状况或居住地点并未影响他们对口腔癌病因的认知。不同教育水平和职业的患者之间存在高度显著差异，受教育程度越高、职业层次越高的患者对口腔癌病因的了解越充分。相比之下，大多数患者知晓吸烟是肺癌发生的一个致病因素。这项研究的结果表明，普通人群对已知口腔癌病因的认知严重不足。讨论了相关问题并提出了建议。
