Awareness of head and neck cancer among patients attended at a regional referral hospital in Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are considered to be lethal and about 50% of the cases are diagnosed at advanced stages and are associated with poor prognosis. Despite the high disease burden globally, there are scarce studies on awareness of HNCs and this is the first study to explore such awareness in Tanzania. The study aimed at determining awareness of head and neck cancer among patients attended at a regional referral hospital in Tanzania. METHODS: A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted at Geita Regional Referral Hospital from April to May 2022 where 315 respondents were recruited. Simple random sampling technique was utilized and data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Chi-square test was performed to establish the relationship between the selected independent and dependent variables. P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: More than half (54.9%) of the respondents considered themselves to be somewhat knowledgeable on head neck cancer. In the same study, 56.2% of the respondents didn’t know anatomical sites of head and neck cancer and over half (65.9%) of the respondents didn't know signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer. Cigarette smoking (73.7%) and alcohol consumption (65.1%) were the most correctly identified risk factors for HNCs. Regarding treatment options and preventive measures, 75.2% of the respondents knew cessation of cigarette smoking as a preventive measure for HNCs and surgery (91.7%) was the most known treatment option for head and neck. Similarly, a significant association was found between awareness on HNCs and some of the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Although majority of respondents considered themselves to be somewhat knowledgeable on HNCs, awareness by patients on anatomical sites, clinical features, risk factors, preventive measures and curability of head and neck cancer at the Regional Referral Hospital was minimal.