Trends in survival from cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx in Scotland: a clue as to why the disease is becoming more common?

Abstract

Consequently, an analysis of survival data from cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx in Scotland over 20 years has been undertaken to determine whether changes have occurred over this period and to which specific factor(s) they are likely to be attributable. Materials and methodsThe Central Scottish Cancer Registry based in the Information & Statistics Division of the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland aims to record all incident cases of cancer in the Scottish population. Registrations are derived from hospital discharge records, death certificates, out-patient and pathology departments, histopathology and cytology systems and general practitioners. Follow-up of patients is achieved through the NHS central register, which notifies the registry of any person registered with cancer who has died. This system is augmented by computerised medical record linkage of cancer registrations and all death records to maximise ascertainment of deaths in cancer patients (Kendrick and Clarke, 1993). Further details of this system are described elsewhere .All cases (for both men and women) of oral cavity and pharynx cancer (International classification of diseases, version 9 (ICD-9) codes 140-9) (World Health Organization, 1977) diagnosed in the period 1968-87 were extracted from the national cancer register and tabulated by site of cancer, age (0-64, 65 and older) and period of diagnosis (1968-72, 1973-77, 1978-82 and 1983-87

Viable Bacteria Present within Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tissue

“…With an average allstage, 5-year survival rate for oral cancer of less than 50%, the annual mortality figures are comparable to those of carcinoma of the cervix and malignant melanoma (3,40). There is evidence that the incidence of cancer of the oral cavity is increasing in many parts of the world, including the United Kingdom (8,15,16). In the past, oral cancer predominantly affected men in their sixth or seventh decade.…”

Widening socio-economic inequalities in oral cancer incidence in Scotland, 1976–2002

“…Oral cancer risk appears highly correlated with socioeconomic factors, both in Scotland (Macfarlane et al, 1996) and in the UK (Edwards and Jones, 1999), although this was not reflected in a review of incidence studies across the world (Faggiano et al, 1997). Studies of the socio-economic association with oral cancer tend to be cross-sectional and cannot account for temporal changes (Greenwood et al, 2003;Møller and Brewster, 2005).…”

Epidemiological analysis of tongue cancer in South Australia for the 24‐year period, 1977–2001

“…There has been a reported increased incidence of tongue SCC and associated mortality over recent decades in Europe and the United States. 2,4,5 Additionally, an increased incidence of SCC of the tongue in young adults has been reported from studies conducted in several countries.2-6 Approximately 5-10 per cent of cases of tongue cancer occur in younger patients, many of whom do not have the identified risk factors such as smoking and alcohol. 6 Debate continues in the literature regarding the aetiology, tumour biology and prognosis of tongue cancer in young patients.…”