Incidence and survival in oral and pharyngeal cancers in Finland and Sweden through half century.

BACKGROUND: Cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx encompass a heterogeneous group of cancers for which known risk factors include smoking, alcohol consumption and human papilloma virus (HPV) infection but their influence is site-specific with HPV mainly influencing oropharyngeal cancer. Their incidence and survival rates are not well known over extended periods of time. PATIENTS/METHODS: Data were obtained for Finnish (FI) and Swedish (SE) patients from the Nordcan database recently updated through 2019. Age-adjusted incidence trends (FI from 1953, SE from 1960) and relative survival rates for years 1970 through 2019 were calculated. RESULTS: We observed a prominent increase in oral and oropharyngeal cancers in FI and SE men and women but the trend for oral cancer was interrupted for SE men in 1985 and possibly also for FI and SE women in 2015. The trend changes in male and female oral cancer was confirmed in data for Denmark and Norway. Relative survival for these cancers has improved overall but they differed for one cluster of oral, oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal cancers with 60-70% 5-year survival in the last period and hypopharyngeal cancer with 25% male survival. In all these cancers, survival for old patients was unfavorable. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: We hypothesize that reduction in smoking prevalence helped to stop the increase in oral cancer especially in men. As the prevalence of smoking is decreasing, HPV is becoming a dominant risk factor, particularly for the increasing oropharyngeal cancer. Prevention needs to emphasize sexual hygiene and HPV vaccination.

Comparison of intubation and tracheotomy in adult patients with acute epiglottitis or supraglottitis.

PURPOSE: In acute epiglottitis (AE) or acute supraglottitis (AS), the management of the airway is crucial. We hypothesized that tracheotomized patients recover faster than intubated patients do. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all adult AE and AS patients, who underwent intubation or tracheotomy between 2007 and 2018 in a tertiary care center. Patient demographics, treatment, and complications were analyzed. RESULTS: The cohort comprised 42 patients. The airway was secured with intubation in 50% and with tracheotomy in 50%. All intubated patients (n = 21) and three tracheotomized patients were treated in the intensive care unit (p < 0.0001). Procedure-related complications were encountered in three intubated and eight tracheotomized patients (p = 0.892). Median overall treatment cost was 11.547 € and 5.856 € in the intubated and tracheotomized patient groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The median duration of sick leave after discharge from hospital was 13 days in the tracheotomy group and 7 days in the intubation group (p = 0.097). CONCLUSION: Tracheotomy resulted in a less expensive management in securing the airway in AE or AS, but tracheotomized patients had a trend towards more complications and longer sick leaves compared to intubated patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2b.

Familial risks in and between stone diseases: sialolithiasis, urolithiasis and cholelithiasis in the population of Sweden.

BACKGROUND: According to the literature the three stone diseases, sialolithiasis (SL), urolithiasis (UL) and cholelithiasis (CL) share comorbidities. We assess familial and spouse risks between these stone disease and compare them to familial risks for concordant (same) stone disease. METHODS: Study population including familiar relationships was obtained from the Swedish Multigeneration Register and stone disease patients were identified from nation-wide medical records. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for 0-83 year old offspring when their first-degree relatives were diagnosed with stone disease and the rates were compared to individuals without a family history of stone disease. Numbers of offspring with SL were 7906, for UL they were 170,757 and for CL they were 204,369. RESULTS: SIRs for concordant familial risks were 2.06 for SL, 1.94 for UL and 1.82 for CL. SIRs for SL and UL were slightly higher for women than for men. Familial risks between stone diseases were modest. The highest risk of 1.17 was for UL when family members were diagnosed with CL, or vice versa. The SIR for UL was 1.15 when family members were diagnosed with SL. Familial risks among spouses were increased only for UL-CL pairs (1.10). CONCLUSIONS: Familial risks for concordant SL were 2.06 and marginally lower for the other diseases. Familial risks between stone diseases were low but higher than risks between spouses. The data show that familial clustering is unique to each individual stone disease which would imply distinct disease mechanisms. The results cast doubt on the reported comorbidities between these diseases.

Survival in oral and pharyngeal cancers is catching up with laryngeal cancer in the NORDIC countries through a half century.

BACKGROUND: Cancers of the head and neck (HN) are heterogeneous tumors with incidence rates varying globally. In Northern Europe oral and oropharyngeal cancers are the most common individual types. Survival for HN varies by individual tumor type but for most of them survival trends are not well known over extended periods of time. METHODS: Data for a retrospective survival study were obtained for Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish patients from the NORDCAN database from 1971 to 2020. Relative 1- and 5-year survival rates and 5/1-year conditional survival for years 2-5 were calculated. RESULTS: Both 1- and 5-year survival improved for all HN cancers but only marginally for laryngeal cancer. For the other cancers a 50-year increase in 5-year survival was about 30% units for nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancers, 20% units for oral cancer and somewhat less for hypopharyngeal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: 5-year survival reached about 65% for all HN cancers, except for hypopharyngeal cancer (30%). Human papilloma virus infection is becoming a dominant risk factor for the rapidly increasing oropharyngeal cancer, the prevention of which needs to emphasize oral sex as a route of infection.

Complications in lymph node excision in the head and neck area.

BACKGROUND: Although needle biopsy is widely used in work-up of lymphadenopathy, lymph node excision (LNE) is often required especially in lymphoma diagnostics. LNE is an invasive procedure, which carries a potential risk of complications. However, comprehensive studies evaluating the spectrum and occurrence of complications are lacking. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: This study addresses the role of preoperative needle biopsies in patients who underwent LNE. Furthermore, surgical complications related to LNE are analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Altogether 321 patients, who underwent LNE in two-year period in 2018-19, and fulfilled our study criteria, were included. Patients' data were retrieved from the electronic patient records. RESULTS: The surgical complication rate was 5.9%. Most of the complications (n = 16; 84.2%) were categorized as minor (I-II) according to the Clavien-Dindo scale. The remaining three (15.8%), all hemorrhages, were categorized as major complications and required intervention. Preoperative needle biopsy might have avoided the need for LNE in some patients, which we discuss in this study. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Surgical complications after LNE in the head and neck area are rare and mostly minor. Needle biopsy is often recommended preoperatively to avoid unnecessary operations and to refrain performing LNE for patients with non-lymphatic malignancy.

Family History of Head and Neck Cancers.

BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancers (HNCs) encompass a heterogeneous group of cancers between the mouth and larynx. Familial clustering in HNCs has been described, but how it influences individual sites and to which extent known risk factors, such as human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, may contribute is not well established. PATIENTS/METHODS: We employed standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) to estimate familial risks for HNC with same (concordant) and different (discordant) cancers among first-degree relatives using data from the Swedish Cancer Registry from 1958 to 2018. RESULTS: Incidence for male and female oropharyngeal cancer increased close to four-fold in the past 39 years. Familial HNC was found in 3.4% of the study population, with an overall familial SIR of 1.78. Patients with concordant nasopharyngeal cancer showed a high risk of 23.97, followed by hypopharyngeal cancer (5.43). The husbands of wives with cervical cancer had an increased risk of oropharyngeal cancer. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Nasopharyngeal cancers lacked associations with lifestyle or HPV associated cancers, suggesting a role for germline genetics, which was also true for the high-risk families of three HNC patients. In the Swedish population with low smoking levels, HPV is becoming a dominant risk factor, emphasizing the need for sexual hygiene and HPV vaccination.