Background: The epidemic of cancer (including oral cancer) is a growing public health and economic problem in the European societies. A high percentage of patients who come for the appropriate treatment are in the late stages of advancement, often with nodal and/or distant metastases. The literature on the public oral cancer awareness in Poland and Germany is limited.
Objectives: To investigate the levels of public awareness about the early symptoms and risk factors of oral cancer, and to analyze the findings in the context of the socioeconomic profiles of the subjects.
Material and methods: The survey consisted of a 20-item questionnaire divided into 4 sections: socioeconomic and demographic factors, the awareness of oral cancer, symptoms of oral cancer, and its risk factors. It was distributed to 465 adult patients in Poland (Wrocław and Łódź) and Germany (Dresden).
Results: The response rate was 97.6%. Most of the respondents (65.4%) had heard of oral cancer. The sources of information were mainly the traditional mass media and the Internet, with only 23.8% of the respondents indicating doctors as a source of information about oral cancer. What is worrying, only about 1/5 of the participants in each of the 3 centers had an oral cancer examination last year. The awareness of oral cancer correlated positively with the age of the respondents and negatively with the size of the place of residence. Education level had no significant impact on declared knowledge.
Conclusions: The results of this survey do not only show unsatisfactory levels of patients' awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of oral cancer but also emphasize the need to improve the level of healthcare concerning this disease, including screening programs.
Keywords: awareness; head and neck; oncology; oral cancer.