title: Pediatric head and neck malignancies: incidence and trends, 1973-2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Determine the current epidemiology of head and neck (H&N) cancer in the US pediatric population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of national tumor registries comparing childhood H&N cancer trends to overall childhood cancer trends.
  
  
  METHODS
  The SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database was accessed to gather epidemiologic data regarding pediatric H&N cancer between 1973 and 2010. Specific trends related to demographic background, histologic diagnosis, tumor location, and incidence, as well as general trends of all pediatric cancers, were extracted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total burden and incidence rates of pediatric cancer as well as H&N cancer continue to rise. Cancer was diagnosed in children <15 years old at a rate of 12.5 cases (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.9-13.1) per 100,000 from 1973 to 1975 and 17.3 (95% CI, 16.7-17.9) from 2007 to 2009, an increase of 38%. H&N cancers in the same age group increased from 1.1 (95% CI, 0.9-1.2) in 1973-1975 to 1.6 (95% CI, 1.4-1.8) in 2007-2009, an increase of 45%. Despite this apparent increased incidence, the proportion of H&N cancers to all cancers in the pediatric population has remained stable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As with all pediatric cancer, the public health burden of pediatric H&N cancer continues to rise. The proportion of H&N malignancy to all pediatric cancer is stable. With the incidence increasing, however, work to identify treatment strategies remains crucial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California, USA isaac.ephraim@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Brigger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016208:Databases, Factual; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000639:trends; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018426:SEER Program; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: SEER program; United States; cancer; epidemiology; head and neck neoplasms