Objective   This study aims to analyze the epidemiological data of 2 829 cases of head and neck cancer, as well as provide guidance and basis for the prevention and treatment of head and neck cancer among the inhabitants of Xinjiang.

  Methods   Data on head and neck cancers diagnosed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between January 2002 and December 2011 were collected, and constituent ratios were analyzed.

  Results   The sample consisted of 1 657 (58.57%) males and 1 172 (41.43%) females, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.4:1. Median age was 55 years, mainly distributed in the range of 40 years to 69 years. Patients within this age group constituted 63.38% of the total patients. Ethnic groups comprising the samples were as follows: Han, 59.5%; Uygur, 27.7%; Kazakh, 6.3%; Hui, 3.1%; and Mongol, 1.6%. Other ethnic groups constituted 1.6% of the sample. The five cancers with the highest constituent ratios were oral cancer, thyroid carcinoma, laryngeal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and nasal sinus cancer. The five most common cancers diagnosed in males were oral cancer, laryngeal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, nasal sinus cancer, and thyroid carcinoma; those in women were thyroid carcinoma, oral cancer, nasal sinus cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and facial skin cancer. The five most common cancers by ethnic groups were identified as follows: thyroid carcinoma, oral cancer, laryngeal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and nasal sinus cancer in Han patients; oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, nasal sinus cancer, thyroid carcinoma, and laryngeal cancer in Uygur patients; and oral cancer, thyroid cancer, nasal sinus cancer, laryngeal cancer, and oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer in Kazakh patients.

  Conclusion   Efforts toward cancer prevention should be focused on oral and thyroid cancers. Sufficient attention is needed for the prevention and treatment of laryngeal, nasopharyngeal, and nasal sinus cancer in the Xinjiang area.