Knowledge about oral cancer among dental patients from the National University of San Marcos
Keywords:
oral cancer, knowledge, epidemiology, dentistry.Abstract
Introduction: Oral cancer is a world health problem. It constitutes the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death. Knowledge about and awareness of this disease among the population is important to reduce its high mortality rate.
Objective: Determine the level of knowledge about oral cancer among adult patients attending the Dental School at the National University of San Marcos in the year 2017.
Methods: A cross-sectional observational descriptive study was conducted. The study population was the patients attending the Dental School clinic. The sample was 223 patients selected by systematic probabilistic random sampling. The evaluation tool was a survey containing 11 closed-ended questions divided into five domains: general knowledge, risk factors, signs and symptoms, repercussions and prevention of oral cancer. The grading scale was low, fair or high.
Results: Of the patients surveyed, 56.5% (n= 126) had a low knowledge level, 40.4% (n= 90) a fair level and 3.1% (n= 7) a high level. Average answer level was 12.14 ± 2.90 (CI 95% [10.17-14.89]). Sex and age did not have a significant relationship to knowledge level (p= 0.45 and p= 0.52, respectively). However, educational level did have a significant relationship (p= 0.009).
Conclusions: In the study population the level of knowledge about oral cancer is predominantly low. Sex and age do not have an influence on the level of knowledge about oral cancer, but educational level does.Downloads
References
McQuistan MR, Qasim A, Shao C, Straub-Morarend CL, Macek MD. Oral health knowledge among elderly patients. J Am Dent Assoc. 2015;146(1):17-26.
da Silva SR, Juliano Y, Novo NF, Weinfeld I. Comparative study of knowledge about oral cancer among undergraduate dental students. Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2016;14(3):338-45.
Keten HS, Isik O, Guvenc N, Ersoy O, Celik M. Evaluation of the Level of Knowledge of Oral Cancer Among High School Students. J Cancer Educ. 2017;32(1):79-84.
Devadiga A, Prasad KVV. Knowledge about oral cancer in adults attending a Dental Hospital in India. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2010;11(6):1609-13.
Patton LL, Elter JR, Southerland JH, Strauss RP. Knowledge of oral cancer risk factors and diagnostic concepts among North Carolina dentists: Implications for diagnosis and referral. J Am Dent Assoc. 2005;136(5):602-10.
Kumar M, Nanavati R, Modi TG, Dobariya C. Oral cancer: Etiology and risk factors: A review. J Can Res Ther. 2016;12(2):458-63.
Pancharethinam D, Daniel MJ, Subbiah S, Srinivasan SV, Jimsha VK. Relationship between sociodemographic factors and oral cancer awareness and knowledge: A hospital-based study. J Educ Ethics Dent. 2016 Jan 7;6(2):56.
Ernani V, Saba NF. Oral Cavity Cancer: Risk Factors, Pathology, and Management. Oncology. 2015;89(4):187-95.
Eman Shokry A, Rehab AM, Rashad AEA. Educational program to improve quality of life among elderly regarding oral health. Fut Dent J. 2018 Dec 1;4(2):211-5.
Macpherson LMD. Raising awareness of oral cancer from a public and health professional perspective. Br Dent J. 2018 Nov 9;225:809-14.
Petti S, Scully C. Oral cancer knowledge and awareness: Primary and secondary effects of an information leaflet. Oral Oncol. 2007 Apr 1;43(4):408-15.
Razavi SM, Tahani B, Nouri S, Khazaei A. Oral Cancer Knowledge and Practice among Dental Patients and their Attitude Towards Tobacco Cessation in Iran. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(13):5439-44.
Gomes SV, Conceição TS, Neves PAM, Lopes FF, Cruz MCFN da, Gomes SV, et al. Knowledge on oral cancer among dentistry students at Federal University of Maranhão. Rev Odontol UNESP. 2015 Feb;44(1):44-50.
General Assembly of the World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. J Am Coll Dent. 2014;81(3):14-8.
Zheng CM, Ge MH, Zhang SS, Tan Z, Wang P, Zheng RS, et al. Oral cavity cancer incidence and mortality in China, 2010. J Can Res Ther. 2015;11(2):149-54.
Ariyawardana A, Sitheeque MA, Ranasinghe AW, Perera I, Tilakaratne WM, Amaratunga EA, et al. Prevalence of oral cancer and pre-cancer and associated risk factors among tea estate workers in the central Sri Lanka. J Oral Pathol Med. 2007;36:581-7.
Srikanth Reddy B, Doshi D, Padma Reddy M, Kulkarni S, Gaffar A, Ram Reddy V. Oral cancer awareness and knowledge among dental patients in South India. J Craniomaxillofac Surg. 2012 Sep;40(6):521-4.
Tomar SL, Logan HL. Florida Adults’ Oral Cancer Knowledge and Examination Experiences. J Public Health Dent. 2005;65(4):221-30.
Hassona Y, Scully C, Abu Ghosh M, Khoury Z, Jarrar S, Sawair F. Mouth cancer awareness and beliefs among dental patients. Int Dent J. 2015 Feb;65(1):15-21.
Al-Shammari KF, Moussa MA, Al-Ansari JM, Al-Duwairy YS, Honkala EJ. Dental patient awareness of smoking effects on oral health: Comparison of smokers and non-smokers. J Dent. 2006 Mar 1;34(3):173-8.
Croucher R, Islam SS, Nunn H. Campaign awareness and oral cancer knowledge in UK resident adult Bangladeshi: a cross-sectional study. Br J Cancer. 2011;105(7):925-30.
Cruz GD, Le Geros RZ, Ostroff JS, Hay JL, Kenigsberg H, Franklin DM. Oral cancer knowledge, risk factors and characteristics of subjects in a large oral cancer screening program. J Am Dent Assoc. 2002;133(8):1064-71.
Schrijvers CT, Mackenbach JP, Lutz JM, Quinn MJ, Coleman MP. Deprivation, stage at diagnosis and cancer survival. Int J Cancer. 1995;63(3):324–9.
Singh K, Sharma D, Kaur M, Gauba K, Thakur JS, Kumar R. Effect of health education on awareness about oral cancer and oral self-examination. J Edu Health Promot. 2017 Jan 1;6(1):27.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain all rights to their works, which they can reproduce and distribute as long as they cite the primary source of publication.
The Rev Cubana Estomatol is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) and follows the publication model of SciELO Publishing Schema (SciELO PS) for publication in XML format.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
- You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
- No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
Download PDF
