Tongue Cancer

Study data from A.G. Sikora and co-authors update knowledge of pharyngeal cancer

Tongue Cancer Library Library Home This article was published in Clinical Oncology Week, which you can subscribe to online.

"Population-based cancer study involving patients receiving care in the United States. The study included 47 308 men 20 years and older with an index oral cavity/pharyngeal or anogenital cancer. Second primary HPV-associated cancers (anogenital or oral cavity/pharyngeal) or HPV-unrelated cancers (prostate, bladder, or colon). The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was elevated for both anogenital cancer following oral cavity/pharyngeal cancer (SIR, 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-2.7) and oral cavity/pharyngeal cancer following anogenital cancer (SIR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.1-4.2). The increase in SIR was most pronounced for tonsillar cancer following anal cancer (SIR, 8.4; 95% CI, 2.7-19.6). The risk of second primary HPV-associated cancers did not vary significantly by age, race, year of diagnosis, or geographic location but was greater among never-married men, particularly for anal cancer following oral cavity/pharyngeal cancer (SIR, 6.5; 95% CI, 1.8-16.7 in never-married men, but SIR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.7-3.1 in ever-married men) and for tonsillar cancer following anogenital cancer (SIR, 13.0; 95% CI, 3.533.2 in never-married men, but SIR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.0-9.7 in ever-married men). Other than a slightly increased risk of tongue cancer following colon cancer (SIR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), there was no increased risk of oral cavity/pharyngeal or anogenital cancer following HPV-unrelated cancers or vice versa," wrote A.G. Sikora and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: "The association between index and second primary anogenital and oral cavity/pharyngeal cancers, strongest in never-married men, supports the influence of sexual behavior on the risk of HPV-associated head and neck cancers."

Sikora and colleagues published their study in Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (Bidirectional Association of Anogenital and Oral Cavity/Pharyngeal Carcinomas in Men. Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, 2009;135(4):402-405).

For additional information, contact A.G. Sikora, Mt Sinai School Medical, Dept. of Otolaryngology, 1 Gustave L Levy Pl, Box 1189, New York City, NY 10029, USA.

Publisher contact information for the journal Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery is: American Medical Association, 515 N State St., Chicago, IL 60610-0946, USA.

Keywords: United States, Box, Epidemiology, HPV, Human Papillomavirus, Laryngology, Oncology, Otolaryngology, Pharyngeal Cancer, Pharyngeal Carcinoma, Surgery, Tonsil Cancer, Tonsillar Cancer, Tonsillar Neoplasms.

This article was prepared by Clinical Oncology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Clinical Oncology Week via NewsRx.com.