Gender differences in the incidence of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers in Spain

Objective: The present ecological study analyzed gender differences in the incidences and trends of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers in Spain and compared these with smoking prevalence and alcohol consumption in the period. Methods: Data were evaluated from seven Spanish Population-Based Cancer Registries, selected with a minimum follow-up period of 10 years. Information on smoking prevalence and trends were collected from National Health Surveys; for alcohol consumption the Global Alcohol Database was utilized. Trends in the incidences of cancer, smoking and alcohol consumption were analyzed by log-linear joinpoint regression. Results: Analysis of the seven groups of registries revealed a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of laryngeal cancer in men (APC = −4.2) over time and a non-significant increase in women (APC = 0.6), with data on prevalence of smoking revealing similar trends. For hypopharyngeal cancer in men an initial increase of 10.6% per year was observed, followed by a reduction of −7.2%; however in women a constant increase of 2.8% per year was observed in the evaluated period. Conclusions: In recent years, the incidence of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers have increased in Spanish women and decreased in Spanish men, narrowing the gap between genders for this neoplasm. The identified trends are probably related to the consumption of tobacco and alcohol; however other risk factors should also be addressed.