Locally advanced orofacial malignancy: Synopsis of inoperable lesions at an urban tertiary health facility in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Locally advanced inoperable orofacial malignancies do present clinically, and constitute a significant public health burden worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of Stage IV locally advanced inoperable orofacial malignancies for consecutive patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 24-year retrospective study was undertaken, and data obtained from hospital register, case files, and histopathological reports of patients were recorded in a proforma. The variables studied were age, sex, type of lesion and site, duration of lesion, tobacco/alcohol use, and socioeconomic status of the patients and clinical features of the lesions. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients presented, giving a prevalence of 11.2%. The most common lesion was adenoid cystic carcinoma, 23.1%. Males accounted for 18 (69.2%) cases and females, 8 (30.8%) giving a male to female ratio of 2.3:1. The ages ranged from 21 to 65 years, mean (SD) 48.6 (7.3) years. The gender distribution was clinically and statistically significant in favor of the males (P = 0.001). The patients were in the low socioeconomic class and 20 (76.9%) indulged in chronic use of tobacco and alcohol. The duration of the lesions ranged from 1.8 to 3.1 years. The maxilla/facial skin was the commonest site (46.2%). Clinically and statistically, the relativity of site distribution of lesions was significant (P = 0. 002). The clinical features occurred in combination resulting in an average of 10 symptoms and signs in each patient. CONCLUSION: The synopsis of these lesions shows that all have undergone metastasis; salivary gland malignancies were most common with maxilla as the commonest site.