Survey on OHNC

How Much do You Know about Oral and Head and Neck Cancer?

08 August 2004

Do you know what OHNC is? If you're like many Americans, you've never heard of it. OHNC is the term used for oral and head and neck cancer. These cancers are found in the head and neck region of the body, and include cancer of the oral cavity(mouth, floor of the mouth, lips, teeth, gums, lining of lips, and cheeks), oropharynx(the back one-third of the tongue), the nasopharynx(area behind the nose), hypopharynx(lower region of the throat), and larynx(voice box).

Approximately 40,000 new cases of oral, head, and neck cancer were diagnosed in 2003. It's estimated that 85% of them were due to tobacco use and heavy alcohol consumption. The five year survival rate for OHNC is 56%, and this rate has remained constant over several decades.

If people become educated about early detection of OHNC, survival rates may well improve. The Federal Government now includes improved survival and early detection of oral and head and neck cancer as two of the nation's health objectives.

Symptoms of OHNC

A telephone survey aimed at learning about the American public's overall knowledge of OHNC was conducted between February 27, 2003 and March 2, 2003. The 1,013 Americans ages 18 and over involved in the survey were randomly selected using an unrestricted Random Digit Dialing(RDD) technique that reduces serial bias and ensures that respondents with both listed and unlisted numbers are reached. Only one interview per household was conducted. A subgroup of 269 tobacco users was developed from the original sample based on people's responses.

The questions for the survey were developed from previous studies on oral cancer, some of which were used in supplements to the National Health Interview Surveys from 1990 and 1992. They included information on self-perceived knowledge about the early signs, symptoms, and risk factors for oral and head and neck cancers. The results were weighted to known proportions for age, gender, geographic region, and race. A margin of error is noted of plus or minus 3.1 percent for all respondents; plus or minus six percent for those who used tobacco.

Results of the survey:

Knowledge:

• 62% of those questioned said they were "not very" or "not at all" knowledgeable about OHNC.(58% of tobacco users were in this category)
• 5% considered themselves "very" or "extremely" knowledgeable.(7% of tobacco users were in this category)

Location of cancers:

• 49% of those who responded did not know that OHNC most commonly occurs in the mouth and throat.
• 23% correctly identified throat cancer.
• 17% correctly identified mouth cancer.
• 25% mistakenly thought that brain cancer was included in the category of OHNC.

Incidence:

• 19% of respondents correctly selected the broad range of 10,000-60,000 new cases of OHNC expected to be diagnosed this year.
• Only 22% of tobacco users correctly selected that number.

Risk Factors:

• 42% correctly selected smoking (44% of tobacco users selected smoking as a risk factor)
• 18% selected chewing tobacco (13% of tobacco users selected this).

Both smokers and nonsmokers considered environmental pollution to be a higher risk factor for OHNC than sun exposure, alcohol, or diet, although there is limited evidence to support this.

Early Detection:

• 12% of respondents and 10% of tobacco users correctly identified the early signs of oral cancer(red or white sores in the mouth that do not heal).
• Only 2% overall of those asked( 1% of smokers) thought that hoarseness was an early symptom of cancer of the larynx(voice box).
• 39% of respondents and 42% of tobacco users said they did not know what any of the symptoms for OHNC were.