Krebsvorsorge und -nachsorge im HNO-Gebiet

Summary

The incidence of head and neck carcinomas in the F.R.G. and the validity of the ENT examination methods are high enough to justify systematic mass screening for early detection of these tumours. General screening of the whole population older than 35 years of age is organisationelly impossible and, with regard to tumour distribution, inefficient. Possibly, limitation to so-called high risk groups may be more useful. These, however, with the exception of smokers and alcoholics, have not yet been defined.

The main problem, which has not been solved up to now, is the reluctance of those people who would be eligible for mass screening, to participate in these investigations. For most of the smokers - in view of aerodigestive carcinomas - are also alcoholics, and the latter hardly will be motivated for periodical ENT examinations.

Pilot studies are possibly helpful to increase our knowledge about the expediency of mass screening in ENT carcinomas of certain high-risk groups. Such studies should be made to extend over some time, and they should be performed with comparable investigation techniques and statistical methods. Finally, the population must always be informed about tumour formation and the early symptoms of head and neck cancer. The essential aim of the warning should not be to scare people, but to inform them about the favourable survical chance if the carcinoma has been diagnosed at an early stage.