Introduction:

head and neck cancer is considered as a malignant neoplasm that mainly involves the upper aerodigestive tract.

Objective:

to describe the clinical epidemiological behavior of head and neck cancer in Sancti Spíritus province.

Methods:

a cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out in patients treated with head and neck cancer at the General Provincial Hospital "Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán" of Sancti Spíritus, who went for consultation from September 2021 to March 2022. The population consisted of 352 patients diagnosed with the disease and the sample consisted of 33 patients selected by stratified simple random probability sampling with proportional allocation. Absolute and relative frequency were used.

Results:

male sex (69,7 %) and age group 66 years and older (48,48 %) predominated. The oral cavity (45,45 %) and salivary glands (18,18 %) were the most frequent locations of neoplasms; in the oral cavity, lesions in the floor of the mouth (33,33 %) and tongue (26,67 %) predominated. Squamous cell carcinoma (93,94 %) was the predominant histological variant, as well as stage II lesions (30,30 %). Surgery was the treatment alternative in 60,61 %, followed by the combination of surgery and radiotherapy (24,24 %).

Conclusions:

the prevalence of head and neck cancer is high, which affects the quality of life of patients; its prevention will contribute to reduce morbimortality in the province.

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