Oral squamous cell carcinoma incidence by subsite among diverse racial and ethnic populations in California.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this report was to examine the oral cancer incidence by sex, race/ethnicity, and anatomical subsite.


METHODS
Data from the California Cancer Registry (CCR) were used to calculate the age-adjusted incidence rates of invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by sex, race/ethnicity, and anatomical subsite among residents in California during 1988 to 2001.


RESULTS
Although non-Hispanic (NH) black men have the highest overall incidence rate for OSCC, NH whites and NH blacks have similar incidence patterns by subsite, but the male-to-female (M:F) rate ratio is higher among NH blacks. The OSCC incidence rates for Hispanics are much lower than those for NH whites and NH blacks and similar to those of Asians. The Asian ethnic groups display dramatic variations in terms of the subsite-specific incidence rates and M:F rate ratios.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings illustrate the heterogeneity and complexity of oral cancer by anatomical location and the importance of cultural habits and behavioral factors in the development of oral cancer.
Liu
Lihua
L
Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program, Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. lihualiu@usc.edu
Kumar
Satish K S
SK
Sedghizadeh
Parish P
PP
Jayakar
Abheer N
AN
Shuler
Charles F
CF
D017677:Age Distribution; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005887:Gingival Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009060:Mouth Floor; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D010157:Palatal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology