Karin C. Loftin, PhD¹, Michele Darby, RDH, MS², Stacey B. Plichta, ScD², Sophie Kelly Thompson, MHS, CT(ASCP)³, Shreeram U. Kumar, MS⁴, and Louis M. Abbey, DMD⁵. (1) Bureau of Laboratories, Norfolk Department of Public Health, 830 Southampton Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23507, 757-683-2746, kloftin@odu.edu, (2) College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, School of Dental Hygiene, 244 Technology Building, Norfolk, VA 23539-0286, (3) Department of Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences, Old Dominion University, Cytotechnology Program, 209 Spong Hall, Norfork, VA 23529, (4) Urban Services - Health, Old Dominion University, Spong Hall, Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23529, (5) Department of Oral Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, P.O. Box 980566, Richmond, VA 23298-0566

Oral and pharyngeal cancer affects 30,000 Americans a year and kills one-fourth of those diagnosed. The primary risk factors for oral cancer are past or present cigarette and tobacco usage and alcohol consumption in conjunction with tobacco use. Even though the incidence of oral cancer is relatively low in the younger age groups, this group is most likely to benefit from intervention programs designed to change risky behavior, such as smoking, and prevent oral cancer in the later years. The goal of the study was to identify high-risk target areas for an oral cancer prevention program within the Commonwealth of Virginia. We hypothesized that Hampton Roads would be a high-risk target area. The specific objectives were to analyze The Oral Biopsy Database from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry for cases of oral cancer between 1986 and 2001. The diagnoses were then correlated with the 11 ZIP code regions in Virginia to identify specific areas with high numbers of oral cancer cases. The oral cancer dataset consisted of 4712 cases. Frequencies and cross-tabulations were calculated for all the variables using SPSS 10.1 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The results of the analysis indicated that the Norfolk ZIP code region had the second highest number of squamous cell carcinoma with 231 total cases; Richmond had almost twice as many cases of 435. Therefore Hampton Roads is a high-risk target area that would benefit from an aggressive oral cancer prevention program in public schools.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• List the high risk target areas for Oral Cancer in Virginia
• Articulate a procedure for assessing the frequency of oral cancer or other diseases from a database
• Propose a plan to educate students in oral cancer prevention

Keywords: Oral Health, Adolescent Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.