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. 2022 Nov;233(9):787-793.
doi: 10.1038/s41415-022-5151-4. Epub 2022 Nov 11.

Head and neck cancer in the UK: what was the stage before COVID-19? UK cancer registries analysis (2011-2018)

Grant Creaney  1 , Alex D McMahon  2 , Alastair J Ross  3 , Lesley A Bhatti  4 , Claire Paterson  5 , David I Conway  6
Affiliations

Head and neck cancer in the UK: what was the stage before COVID-19? UK cancer registries analysis (2011-2018)

Grant Creaney et al. Br Dent J. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction People who present with more advanced stage head and neck cancer (HNC) are associated with poorer outcomes and survival. The burden and trends of advanced stage HNC are not fully known at the population level. The UK national cancer registries routinely collect data on HNC diagnoses.Aims To describe trends in stage of diagnosis of HNCs across the UK before the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods Aggregated HNC incidence data were requested from the national cancer registries of the four UK countries for the ten most recent years of available data by subsite and American Joint Commission on Cancer stage at diagnosis classification. Additionally, data for Scotland were available by age group, sex and area-based socioeconomic deprivation category.Results Across the UK, rates of advanced stage HNC had increased, with 59% of patients having advanced disease at diagnosis from 2016-2018. England had a lower proportion of advanced disease (58%) than Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland (65-69%) where stage data were available. The completeness of stage data had improved over recent years (87% by 2018).Conclusion Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, diagnoses of HNC at an advanced stage comprised the majority of HNCs in the UK, representing the major challenge for the cancer healthcare system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Numbers of new HNCs in the UK from 2011-2018 by stage at diagnosis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportion of HNCs in the UK from 2011-2018 by stage at diagnosis
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
HNC incidence counts and rates by stage at diagnosis for each home nation for years 2009-2018
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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