Prevalence of head and neck and oral cancer in Rajasthan: An infirmary based retrospective study

Background: The excessive consumption of tobacco in Southeast Asia especially in India has prompted us to undertake this retrospective study. Aims and Objective: The aim was to assess the prevalence of head and neck (HN) and oral cancer (OC) in Rajasthan State, India. Methods: A retrospective study on the prevalence of various cancers in the HN and oral cavity regions was conducted in the Department of Oncology, S.M.S Hospital, Jaipur, from 1 ^st August 2013 to 31 ^st July 2014. Results: A total of 4587 total body malignancy cases were reported for the out-patient department records, among which HN and OC constituted 1476 cases (32.18%). There were 640 (43.36%) and 836 (56.64%) HN, and OC cases, respectively. Conclusions: This study attempts to quantify and analyze the spectrum of HN and OC in the region. A comprehensive effort is needed to identify the cause of such high prevalence, generate awareness, adopting preventive measures and treatment modalities suited to meet this challenge.