Introduction
Oral cancer (including cancers of the mouth, lip and tongue) is a major
public health problem in certain regions of Europe, Latin America and Asia,
including India1 where it ranks as one of the leading cancer sites
among men and women in many regions2.Major risk factors for oral cancer, are the use of
tobacco, betel quid and alcohol3,4. Despite existing tobacco and alcohol control
policies5,6, mouth cancer incidence has been increasing in most
population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) in India. In a country such as India, where access to
healthcare services and cancer-related awareness is highly variable, changes in
incidence rates should be interpreted carefully. A more in-depth analysis of
important underlying factors related to age, gender and time period for these
trends can yield information for planning rationale cancer control programmes.
We conducted an age period analysis of oral cancer
incidence trends using the PBCR data in Delhi over a 24-year time period (1990–
2014) to address the trends of one of the leading cancer sites in Delhi, and to
better understand the differences by gender and age.
MATERIALS
AND METHODS:
The numbers of cases
cancer of oral cavity were obtained for the period 1990 to 2014 from Delhi
PBCR. Delhi PBCR was established by the Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) in January 1986, at the AIIMS, with the objective of generating reliable
data on the magnitude, trends, and patterns of cancers in Delhi. Delhi PBCR
records cancer cases from more than 180 government and 250 private facilities. The
records are compiled by NCRP of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and
data are available in public domain.
The data were
segregated by sex, age, and anatomical site based on the World Health
Organisation International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd edition
(ICDO- 3).We extracted information on all incident cases of cancer of the lip
(C00), tongue (C01–C02) and mouth ICD-O-3-6; gingiva (C03), floor of the
mouth (C04), palate (C05), cheek mucosa, vestibule, retromolar area and other
unspecified parts of the mouth (C06). Subjects were categorised into 5
ten-year age groups (
