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Cancer of the nasopharynx in connecticut. 1935 through 1959
Author(s) -
Shedd Donald P.,
von Essen Carl F.,
Eisenberg Henry
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(1967)20:4<508::aid-cncr2820200407>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - medicine , cancer , stage (stratigraphy) , population , cancer registry , nasopharyngeal carcinoma , disease , basal cell , surgery , epidermoid carcinoma , carcinoma , radiation therapy , paleontology , environmental health , biology
Abstract This report concerns the total experience with carcinoma of the nasopharynx in Connecticut, a state with a population of approximately two million, located on the eastern coast of North America. The information was derived from the tumor registry of the state and covers the period from 1935 through 1959. Two hundred and thirteen patients were recorded over this time period, of whom 70.8% were males. Epidermoid carcinoma accounted for more than half of the total and there were 26 transitional cell carcinomas. In 20.7% of the patients the disease was localized at the time of diagnosis; in 44.1% there was regional involvement and in 13.1% there were distant metastases. The extent of disease was not clear in 22.1%. Approximately half of the patients were between ages 50 and 69. Thirty‐nine per cent of the males were under age 49. Irradiation was the major method of treatment employed, with a few patients receiving supplemental surgical procedures. At the end of 3 years 56% were alive. At the end of 5 years 17% were alive. In those whose disease was in a localized stage at the time of diagnosis, there was a thirty per cent five year survival. Nasopharyngeal cancer remains a perplexing problem, partly because the location of the tumor permits its development to a fairly advanced stage before the occurrence of symptoms leads to its discovery.