Oral and oropharynx cancer in South America

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the incidence and mortality of oral and oropharynx cancers in South America using available public databases and to discuss the main pitfalls for acquiring reliable data. Methods: The incidence data for oral cavity and oropharynx cancers for South America were obtained from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents/International Agency for Research on Cancer for the period 1998–2007. Mortality rates in South America were obtained from the World Health Organization/IARC database for the period 1999–2012. The number of cases for Brazil was obtained from the National Cancer Institute/missing stage for the period 2000–2010, whereas the São Paulo cancer registry was used to collect data from the most populated state in Brazil for the period 2000–2008. Results: The incidence of oral and oropharynx cancers in South America varied, with the highest rates observed in Brazil among males. The mortality data in selected South American countries ranged from 0.72 to 6.04/100,000 and the proportion of ill-defined deaths in South America varied from 5.0% to 22.0%. Mortality trends for males decreased about 2.5% in most of the countries, excluding Brazil, whereas among females, a significant decrease occurred only in Colombia, with an increase in Brazil and Peru. Conclusion: Although there is a lack of reliable databases in South America, the available data demonstrate a decrease in mortality trends in most countries and the highest incidence in Brazil. The development and improvement of national cancer public databases in South America are highly desirable and necessary to better understand the characteristics and distribution of these neoplasms.