Table 1 Characteristics of the patients
|  | Number (%, n = 487) | Number (%, n = 80)a | Number (%, n = 60)b |
|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Â | Â | Â |
 Male | 341 (70.0) | 58 (72.5) | 43 (71.7) |
 Female | 146 (30.0) | 22 (27.5) | 17 (28.3) |
Educational degree | Â | Â | Â |
 ≤9 years | 272 (55.9) | 60 (75.0) | 45 (75.0) |
 ~12 years | 180 (37.0) | 14 (17.5) | 12 (20.0) |
 >12 years | 35 (7.2) | 6 (7.5) | 3 (5.0) |
Marriage stage | Â | Â | Â |
 Unmarried | 34 (7.0) | 12 (15.0) | 9 (15.0) |
 Married | 453 (93.0) | 68 (85.0) | 51 (85.0) |
Dialect | Â | Â | Â |
 Cantonese | 335 (68.8) | 53 (66.3) | 38 (63.3) |
 Hakka | 87 (17.9) | 14 (17.5) | 12 (20.0) |
 Chaoshanese | 48 (9.9) | 5 (6.3) | 5 (8.3) |
 Others | 17 (3.5) | 8 (10.0) | 5 (8.3) |
Source of the patients | Â | Â | Â |
 In-patients | 80 (16.4) | 80 (100.0) | 60 (100.0) |
 Out-patients | 407 (83.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
Pathological type | Â | Â | Â |
 Squamous cell | 22 (4.5) | 6 (7.5) | 5 (8.3) |
 Differentiation type | 32 (6.6) | 9 (11.3) | 5 (8.3) |
 Undifferentiated type | 433 (88.9) | 65 (81.3) | 50 (83.3) |
UICC stage | Â | Â | Â |
 I stage | 22 (4.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
 II stage | 78 (16.0) | 12 (15.0) | 4 (6.7) |
 III stage | 227 (46.6) | 36 (45.0) | 28 (46.7) |
 IV stage | 160 (32.9) | 32 (40.0) | 28 (46.7) |
Radiotherapy | Â | Â | Â |
 IMRT | 294 (60.4) | 72 (90.0) | 60 (100.0) |
 Three-dimensional RT | 47 (9.7) | 2 (2.5) | 0 (0.0) |
 Conventional RT | 86 (17.7) | 4 (5.0) | 0 (0.0) |
 No | 60 (12.3) | 2 (2.5) | 0 (0.0) |
Other disease | Â | Â | Â |
 Yes | 98 (20.1) | 60 (75.0) | 47 (78.3) |
 No | 389 (79.9) | 20 (25.0) | 13 (21.7) |