The epidemiology of oral cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Italy: Incidence, survival, prevalence

Lucia Mangone; Pamela Mancuso; Isabella Bisceglia; Giacomo Setti; Giuliano Malaguti; Paolo Giorgi Rossi

doi:10.3389/froh.2022.982584

The epidemiology of oral cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Italy: Incidence, survival, prevalence

Front Oral Health. 2022 Sep 16:3:982584. doi: 10.3389/froh.2022.982584. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Lucia Mangone¹, Pamela Mancuso¹, Isabella Bisceglia¹, Giacomo Setti², Giuliano Malaguti³, Paolo Giorgi Rossi¹

Affiliations

¹ Epidemiology Unit, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale - IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
² Centro Universitario Odontoiatria, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
³ Department of Specialist Surgeries Head-Neck, Modena and Reggio Emilia University, Modena, Italy.

Abstract

Despite novel treatment approaches, oral cancer survival has not improved significantly and the disease often presents a disabling path for patients. The aim of this work was to describe the epidemiological data of oral cancers in a province of northern Italy. Incident cases in the period 1996-2020 and EU population standardized rates were reported for Oral Cavity cancer (OC) and OroPharyngeal cancer (OP). Annual percent changes (APC) were estimated with joint point analysis. The 5-year survival was calculated in three different periods: 1996-2000, 2001-2010 and 2011-2015. From 1996 to 2020, 771 cases of oral cancers (442 OC and 329 OP) were recorded with the age-standardized incidence rate 7.28 (10.74 in males and 3.97 in females): 3.82 for OC and 3.47 for OP. In males there is a significant increase in the incidence of OP up to 2017 (APC 11; 95% CI, 4.9-17.5), which then decreases; in females the rates are constant. In 2020 (the era of Covid-19), we did not see a decline in incidence compared to 2019. The 5-year survival (for cases diagnosed in 2011-2015) was 55.6%, 56.5% and 56% for OC, OP and OC + OP, respectively; it was somewhat higher in females and was undergoing some changes over the course of years. The number of prevalent cases as of 1 January 2021 is 314 (175 OC, 139 OP). The study showed a decline in cancers in men, particularly for OP; survival shows improvement in the long-term examined; Covid-19 had no negative impact on 2020 diagnoses.

Keywords: COVID-19; incidence; oral cancer; prevalence; survival.