e18122 Background: Epidemiological data on head and neck cancers (HNC) in conflict-affected regions like Syria are scarce. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients newly diagnosed with HNC at Syria's principal oncology referral center. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, using data from Al-Bairouni University Hospital, Syria’s national cancer center, which serves an estimated 65-70% of the country’s oncology patients. The study included all consecutive patients with newly diagnosed, primary head and neck cancers (including malignancies of the thyroid, glottis, nasopharynx, oral cavity, and other related sites) between January 1 and December 31, 2024. Clinico-demographic data were abstracted from medical records, including age at diagnosis, sex, governorate of residence, smoking status, primary tumor site, histopathological grade, and clinical stage at presentation. Institutional ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection. Results: A total of 664 patients were diagnosed with head and neck cancers during the study period in 2024 (Table 1). Across this year, a consistent female predominance was observed (52.41%). The average age at diagnosis was 52.2 years, 51.20% of patients were smokers, and 24.40% of all cases had advanced/metastatic disease at diagnosis. Thyroid (311) and Glottis (144) were the most common Head & Neck cancers. The highest patient loads originated from Aleppo (17.02%) and Rural Damascus (12.80%), followed by Damascus (11.75%). Notably, patients from more distant governorates, such as Deir ez-Zor (7.53%) and Al-Hasakeh (11.45%), accounted for a significant proportion of head and neck cancers presenting to our center. Chi-square tests confirmed significant associations between cancer type and disease stage (p<0.001) and between smoking and high-grade tumors (p<0.01). Logistic regression identified smoking as a key predictor of advanced stage (OR=2.1) and high-grade disease (OR=2.8), with nasopharyngeal cancer showing particularly high risk. ANOVA revealed significant age differences across cancer subtypes (p<0.001), with advanced-stage patients being significantly older. Conclusions: Syria’s first national head and neck cancer dataset identifies high smoking rates and late-stage presentation, highlighting key needs for prevention and earlier diagnosis to inform regional policy. Diagnosis 2024 Cases Average Age Male Sex (%) Smokers (%) High grade Advanced/Metastatic at diagnosis Thyroid 311 46.1 16.72% 28.30% 4.47% 20.27% Glottis 144 60.4 86.11% 89.58% 77.78% 29.60% Nasopharynx 50 49.2 78.00% 56.00% 86.36% 59.09% Mouth, Gum, tonsils and tongue 83 57.1 57.83% 59.04% 63.08% 40.85% Skin and lip 63 62.9 71.43% 63.49% 44.23% 13.33% Others (bones, small ear, nose, eye, and lymph node) 13 52.2 61.54% 46.15% 53.85% 30.77%
Al‐Bitar et al. (Thu,) studied this question.