Global Burden of Head and Neck Cancer

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Key points

  • Cancer is the leading cause of death in countries with developed economies.

  • Tobacco use is responsible for the majority of the global burden of head and neck cancer.

  • Tobacco use is increasing in developing economies, contributing the increasing burden of head and neck cancer, especially oral cancer.

  • Human papilloma virus is responsible for the dramatic increase in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer in Western countries.

Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers

Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers combined make up the sixth most common cancer subsite in the world. In 2012 it was estimated that 443,000 new cases of oral and oropharyngeal cancer were diagnosed, and 241,450 deaths were attributed to cancers of the oral cavity and oropharynx.4,5 By 2018, the incidence increased to 710,000 and the number of deaths attributed to the oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers was 350,000.5,6 Although these disease burden rates are global figures, the incidence

Nasopharyngeal cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx is relatively rare when compared with other head and neck subsites. It is classified into 3 major histologic subtypes: keratinizing, nonkeratinizing, and basaloid. The WHO Global Cancer Observatory17 reports that the overall incidence of new nasopharyngeal cancer cases in 2018 was 129,079, with 72,987 related deaths. It is well-known that the majority of new cases occur in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 64,304 (lifetime cumulative risk 0.29%) and

Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers

Cancers of the larynx and hypopharynx are often grouped together for anatomic reasons. Although they likely share common etiologic factors (alcohol, tobacco, and areca nut chewing being the predominant ones), these are 2 distinct entities with a different mode of presentation, treatment approaches, and prognosis.

Hypopharynx cancer is uncommon and, given to its silent growth in the initial stages, it is often discovered late in the course of the disease,42 which leads to a poor prognosis. The

Sinonasal cancer

Sinonasal cancers are malignancies of the nasal cavity as well as accessory sinus cavity of the face. Internationally, sinonasal cancers constitute about 0.2% of all cancers.48 Studies have found that the majority of these cancers affect the nasal cavity (44%–46%) and maxillary sinus (29%–36%), with less than 10% affecting frontal, ethmoid, and sphenoid sinuses.49 Based on WHO statistics taken from the GLOBOCAN dataset for 9 countries, the overall incidence was found to be 5 to 9 per million

Disclosure

The authors have nothing to disclose.

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