Incidence and survival for oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) in Grenada

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology of OPC and assess the impact of age, stage at diagnosis, gender and treatment outside of Grenada on OPC survival. DESIGN AND METHODS: An OPC population-based series from the only ENT surgeon in the island was assembled. Age-adjusted incidence rates, and stage distribution were analyzed and compared with US-Blacks and incidence rates from regional registries. RESULTS: 93 cases of OPC diagnosed during 1991-2010 resulted in an annual age-adjusted incidence rate of 9.5 per 100,000 in Grenadian males and 1.7 among females. Jamaica’s rates were 5.2 and 2.3; Martinique’s 13.1 and 1.6; US-Blacks 15.1 and 5.0 respectively. The median age in Grenada was 58 years of age. In Grenada 73% of the cases presented with stage III/IV compared to 72% among US Blacks. Nearly 24% of patients had treatment outside of Grenada. CONCLUSION: OPC rates in Grenada were comparable to others in the region, attesting to the population basis of this series. Grenadian males show medium risk for OPC while the risk is low among females. Surprisingly, the tumor, node and metastasis (TNM) stage distribution in Grenada does not differ significantly from that among US Blacks for OPC, a cancer for which screening is rarely performed or possible.