Investigation of the Incidence and Geographic Distribution of Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Canada: A National Population-Based Study

Badria Alkazemi; Feras M Ghazawi; François Lagacé; Vladimir Nechaev; Andrei Zubarev; Ivan V Litvinov

doi:10.3390/curroncol30060424

Investigation of the Incidence and Geographic Distribution of Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Canada: A National Population-Based Study

Curr Oncol. 2023 Jun 9;30(6):5631-5651. doi: 10.3390/curroncol30060424.

Authors

Badria Alkazemi¹, Feras M Ghazawi², François Lagacé³, Vladimir Nechaev⁴, Andrei Zubarev⁵, Ivan V Litvinov^{3

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Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of Leeds School of Medicine, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
² Division of Dermatology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M2, Canada.
³ Experimental Medicine Training Program, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada.
⁴ Independent Researcher, 187015 Saint Peterburg, Russia.
⁵ Cancer Research Program, McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada.
⁶ Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada.

Abstract

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal malignancies with various genetic and environmental risk factors. This study analyzed the epidemiology of sarcomas to gain insight into the incidence and mortality rates of these cancers in Canada, as well as to elucidate their potential environmental risk factors. Data for this study were obtained from le Registre Québécois du Cancer (LRQC) and from the Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) for the period from 1992 to 2010. Mortality data were obtained from the Canadian Vital Statistics (CVS) database for the period from 1992 to 2010 using the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, ICD-O-3, ICD-9, or ICD-10 codes, for all subtypes of sarcomas. We found that the overall sarcoma incidence in Canada decreased during the study period. However, there were select subtypes with increasing incidence. Peripherally located sarcomas were found to have lower mortality rates compared to axially located sarcomas, as expected. Clustering of Kaposi sarcoma cases in self-identified LGBTQ+ communities and in postal codes with a higher proportion of African-Canadian and Hispanic populations was observed. Forward Sortation Area (FSA) postal codes with a lower socioeconomic status also had higher Kaposi sarcoma incidence rates.

Keywords: Canada; Canadian Cancer Registry; Kaposi sarcoma; axial sarcoma; bone sarcoma; cancer; epidemiology; incidence; mortality; peripheral sarcoma; postal code; sarcoma; soft tissue sarcoma.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Canada / epidemiology
Humans
Incidence
Sarcoma* / epidemiology
Sarcoma, Kaposi*
Soft Tissue Neoplasms* / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This research was funded by a Proof-of-Concept Intervention Grant in Primary Prevention of Cancer (Action Grant) from the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-Institute for Cancer Research (CCS grant #707233/CIHR-ICR grant # 478510). This work was further supported by the CIHR Project Scheme Grant #426655 awarded to Litvinov; the CIHR Catalyst Grant #428712 awarded to Litvinov and Ghazawi; the Cancer Research Society (CRS)-CIHR Partnership Grant #25343 awarded to Litvinov; and the Fonds de la Recherche du Québec—Santé grants awarded to Litvinov (#34753, #36769, and #296643).