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Knowledge of Oral Cancer by a Brazilian Population

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the knowledge about oral cancer in a Brazilian population, including initial clinical signs, causal factors, and the health professional of first choice when suspected of the disease. A total of 2261 participants were interviewed in a cross-sectional study, to investigate associations between sociodemographic descriptive variables and knowledge of oral cancer, risk factors, disease precursor lesions, and health professional of choice for diagnosis. The variables were descriptively analyzed and possible associations investigated considering p values < 0.05. A total of 83.4% of participants reported knowing about oral cancer, and 59.5% reported knowing about potentially malignant lesions; both variables were associated (p < 0.0001). Tobacco was identified as the main risk factor (83.6%), followed by family history (66.2%), and poor oral hygiene (54.5%). Interviewees with higher education level had greater knowledge about cancer (p < 0.0001), and the dentist was the health professional of choice for 43.1% of those who knew about the disease (p = 0.007), with the generalist being the most sought specialist. The population evaluated had a low knowledge of oral cancer given the lack of specific clarifications on etiological factors and risk situations. Health education initiatives are necessary to increase population awareness of potentially malignant oral lesions and improve early diagnosis and recognition of the dentist as a qualified professional for diagnosis of the disease.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)—Grant No. 22142.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC Minas), Av. Dom José Gaspar, 500 - Coração Eucarístico,, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 30535-901, Brazil

    Soraya de Mattos Camargo Grossmann, Ana Carolina Ribeiro Sales, Daniela Silva Reis, Joyce Caroline Guimarães, Maíra Teixeira Silva, Poliane Caroline Gonçalves de Ceno, Regiane Kelly Mendes de Sá, Fábio Fernandes Borém Bruzinga & Paulo Eduardo Alencar de Souza

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  1. Soraya de Mattos Camargo Grossmann
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  2. Ana Carolina Ribeiro Sales
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  4. Joyce Caroline Guimarães
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  5. Maíra Teixeira Silva
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  9. Paulo Eduardo Alencar de Souza
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Correspondence to Soraya de Mattos Camargo Grossmann.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee of PUC Minas Protocol No. 2.207.653 and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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de Mattos Camargo Grossmann, S., Sales, A.C.R., Reis, D.S. et al. Knowledge of Oral Cancer by a Brazilian Population. J Canc Educ 36, 965–970 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01722-4

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