Prevalence of head and neck tumors in children under 12 years of age referred to the Pathology Department of Children's Hospital in Tabriz during a 10-year period

Head and neck tumors are the most common complaints of people referring to different medical sections, especially in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of these tumors in children less than 12 years of age to provide a better perspective for future studies. All the files in Department of Pathology at Tabriz Pediatric Hospital from 2001 to 2011 were screened for head and neck tumors in children under 12 years of age. Data including age and gender as well as the type, the location, and benign/malignant characteristic of the tumor were recorded. Data were analyzed by SPSS 15 statistical software, using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. A total of 160 cases were identified. Most of the tumors were benign (68%) and most of the tumors occurred in the neck region (41%). The most frequent benign and malignant tumors were lymphangioma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, respectively. The majority of benign tumors were found in children younger than 2 years old (P=0.007), but there was no age predilection for malignant tumors. According to our results, benign tumors were more prevalent than malignant ones. Although a low rate of benign tumors in males shows that more attention should be paid to the early diagnosis of head and neck tumors.