Survival of Danish cancer patients 1943-1987. Buccal cavity and pharynx.
Cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx are anatomically related and (with the exception of cancers of the salivary glands and nasopharynx) share risk factors, i.e., tobacco and alcohol. For cancers of the lip ("lipstick area") exposure to sunlight is also an important risk factor. Cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx are rare tumours, accounting for less than 2% of all malignant tumours in Denmark. The largest group is lip cancers (6545 cases in 1943-87) for which the survival rate remained high during the study period, 95-99% of patients surviving longer than five years. Survival from cancer of the tongue (1555 cases in 1943-87) and cancer of the mouth (2770 cases) also remained fairly constant during the period; the relative one-year survival rate for males were 57% for tongue cancer and 75% for mouth cancer in 1983-87. Survival (Kaplan-Meier estimates) from cancers at either site diagnosed in 1978-87 was better for females than for males; however, relative mortality was higher among males than among females for cancer of the tongue (16.3 after one year compared to 11.9 among females), while relative mortality for mouth cancer was 8.9 and 7.8, respectively. After five years, relative mortality was 1.6 and 2.6 for male patients and 1.7 and 1.6 for female patients with cancer of the tongue and mouth. Five-year survival rate after cancer of the salivary glands (2147 cases) fell from 73 in males and 81% in females in 1943-47 to 45 and 71% in 1983-87. During the same period, however, the incidence rate almost halved, and patients were generally older at presentation, with more advanced tumours. The one-year survival rate from tumours of the pharynx (2948 cases; 38% in the tonsils, 28% in the naso-pharynx and 25% in the hypopharynx) increased between 1943 and 1987 from 48% in males and 48% in females to 59% and 67%. After five years, relative mortality was still high in both males (2.5), and females, (4.9).
Danish Cancer Society, Division for Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen.
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D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology