Dentists’ knowledge assessment of prevention and early HPV-associated head and neck cancer detection

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of head and neck cancer associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) in the world. Among healthcare professionals, dentists can play a key role in the early detection and prevention of HPV-associated head and neck cancer.

The aim of the study was to assess the level of education of dentists at I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University on the prevention and early detection of HPV-associated head and neck cancer.

Material and methods. An online study was conducted among dentists of the Dental Center of the Institute of Dentistry named after E.V. Borovsky, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.

Result. An insufficient awareness of dentists on the issues of prevention and early detection of head and neck cancer was determined: 27.8% of dentists have no information regarding main localizations of head and neck cancer; 72.2% of physicians collect no information on HPV infection During history-taking; 36.1% of dentists assess their level of training in the field of head and neck cancer prevention as “weak” and 16.7% of doctors do not agree that HPV vaccination is an effective measure to prevent the development of head and neck cancer.

Conclusion. This study revealed lack of knowledge about head and neck cancer among dentists, which requires the adoption of measures, including changes in curricula and the introduction of additional educational programs to improve the knowledge of dentists in the early detection and prevention of head and neck cancer, including HPV-associated.

Keywords:human papillomavirus; head and neck cancer; dentists; knowledge assessment

Funding. The study had no sponsor support.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Contribution. The concept and design of the study – Belyakova E.N., Briko N.I.; collection and processing of material – Belyakova E.N.; statistical processing – Belyakova E.N.; writing the text – Belyakova E.N., Lopukhov P.D.; editing – Briko N.I.; approval of the final version of the article - all authors; responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article – Belyakova E.N., Briko N.I.

For citation: Belyakova E.N., Briko N.I., Lopukhov P.D. Dentists’ knowledge assessment of prevention and early HPV-associated head and neck cancer detection. Infektsionnye bolezni: novosti, mneniya, obuchenie [Infectious Diseases: News, Opinions, Training]. 2023; 12 (1): 34–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2305-3496-2023-12-1-34-39 (in Russian)

References

1. Sung H., Ferlay J., Siegel R.L., Laversanne M., Soerjomataram I., Jemal A., et al. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021; 71 (3): 209–49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660

2. Warnakulasuriya S. Global epidemiology of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Oral Oncol. 2009; 45 (4–5): 309–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2008.06.002

3. Cohen N., Fedewa S., Chen A.Y. Epidemiology and demographics of the head and neck cancer population. Oral Maxillofac Surg Clin North Am. 2018; 30 (4): 381–95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coms.2018.06.001

4. Speight P.M., Epstein J., Kujan O., et al. Screening for oral cancerda perspective from the Global Oral Cancer Forum. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2017; 123: 680–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oooo.2016.08.021

5. Chaturvedi A.K., Graubard B.I., Broutian T., Pickard R.K.L., Tong Z.Y., Xiao W., et al. Effect of Prophylactic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination on oral HPV infections among young adults in the United States. J Clin Oncol. 2018; 36: 262–67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2017.75.0141 PMID:29182497

6. Patel S., Koskan A., Spolarich A., Perry M., Flood T. Dental professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors related to human papillomavirus vaccination. J Public Health Dent. 2020; 80: 61–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jphd.12350

7. Pampena E., Vanucci R., Johnson L.B., Bind M.A., Tamayo I., Welch K., et al. Educational interventions on human papillomavirus for oral health providers. J Cancer Educ. 2020; 35 (4): 689–95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01512-7

8. Marutsak L.I. Data processing measured in the Likert scale using fuzzy set theory. In: Information Technologies in Science, Management, Social Sphere and Medicine. Tomsk: Izdatel’stvo Natsional’nogo issledovatel’skogo Tomskogo politekhnicheskogo universiteta, 2015: 880–1. (in Russian)

9. Gooi Z., Chan J.Y., Fakhry C. The epidemiology of the human papillomavirus related to oropharyngeal head and neck cancer. Laryngoscope. 2016; 126 (4): 894–900. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.25767

10. Lechner M., Jones O.S., Breeze C.E., Gilson R. Gender-neutral HPV vaccination in the UK, rising male oropharyngeal cancer rates, and lack of HPV awareness. Lancet Infect Dis. 2019; 19 (2): 131–2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30802-8 Epub 2019 Jan 30. PMID: 30722999.

11. Pai S.I., Westra W.H. Molecular pathology of head and neck cancer: Implications for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Annu Rev Pathol. 2009; 4: 49–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.pathol.4.110807.092158

12. Belyakova E.N., Sekacheva M.I., Lopukhov P.D., Briko N.I. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with potentially HPV-related head and neck cancers: results of a sampling study. Epidemiologiya i infektsionnye bolezni. Aktual’nye voprosy [Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases. Actual Issues]. 2021; 11 (2): 63–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18565/epidem.2021.11.2 (in Russian)

13. Belyakova Е.N. Clinical and epidemiological profile and risk factors causing HPV-associated head and neck cancer in Russia: Results of a selected study. Analiz riska zdorov’yu [Health Risks Analysis]. 2022; (1): 72–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21668/health.risk/2022.1.07 (in Russian)

14. Manoharan S., Nagaraja V., Eslick G.D. Ill-fitting dentures and oral cancer: A meta-analysis. Oral Oncol. 2014; 50 (11): 1058–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2014.08.002

15. Zohoori F.V., Shah K., Mason J., Shucksmith J. Identifying factors to improve oral cancer screening uptake: a qualitative study. PLoS One. 2012; 7 (10): e47410. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047410

16. Poelman M.R., Brand H.S., Forouzanfar T., Daley E.M., Jager D.H.J. Prevention of HPV-related oral cancer by dentists: assessing the opinion of Dutch dental students. J Cancer Educ. 2018; 33 (6): 1347–54.

17. Lorenzo-Pouso A.I., Gandara-Vila P., Banga C., Gallas M., Perez-Sayans M., Garcia A., et al. Human Papillomavirus-related oral cancer: Knowledge and awareness among Spanish dental students. J Cancer Educ. 2019; 34 (4): 782–8.

18. Hashim R., Abo-Fanas A., Al-Tak A., Al-Kadri A., Abu E.Y. Early detection of oral cancer – dentists’ knowledge and practices in the United Arab Emirates. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2018; 19 (8): 2351–5.

19. Candotto V., Lauritano D., Nardone M., Baggi L., Arcuri C., Gatto R., et al. HPV infection in the oral cavity: epidemiology, clinical manifestations and relationship with oral cancer. Oral Implantol (Rome). 2017; 10 (3): 209–20.

20. Seoane J., Alvarez-Novoa P., Gomez I., Takkouche B., Diz P., Warnakulasiruya S., et al. Early oral cancer diagnosis: The Aarhus statement perspective. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Head Neck. 2016; 38 (suppl 1): E2182–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.24050

21. Khattab N.M.A., Elheeny A.A.H., Tony G.A. Oral-cancer knowledge, practice, and attitude assessment of dentists in Upper Egypt: A cross-sectional study. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2019; 5 (2): 121–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cre2.160

22. Pavao Spaulonci G., Salgado de Souza R., Gallego Arias Pecorari V., Lauria Dib L. Oral cancer knowledge assessment: Newly graduated versus senior dental clinicians. Int J Dent. 2018; 2018: 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9368918

All articles in our journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0 license)

CHIEF EDITOR
Aleksandr V. Gorelov
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MD, Head of Infection Diseases and Epidemiology Department of the Scientific and Educational Institute of Clinical Medicine named after N.A. Semashko ofRussian University of Medicine, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Professor of the Department of Childhood Diseases, Clinical Institute of Children's Health named after N.F. Filatov, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director for Research, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Rospotrebnadzor (Moscow, Russian Federation)

Journals of «GEOTAR-Media»