Temporal trends of women with oral cavity, base of tongue and lip cancers in Brazil: An ecological study covering mortality data from 1980 to 2018.

Objectives: Obtaining robust evidence about the local mortality levels, trends and impact of oral cavity/base of tongue cancers and lip cancer, especially for women, is imperative in the fight against cancer. This descriptive retrospective ecological time-series study explored trends in oral cavity/base of tongue cancers and lip cancer mortality rates for women in Brazil from 1980 to 2018, by geographic region and anatomical location.

Methods: The crude and age-adjusted annual mortality rates were obtained by sex, anatomical location and macro-regions of Brazil. The number of deaths from oral cavity/base of tongue cancers and lip cancers in Brazil was based on official population counts and estimates. The annual percentage change was calculated based on age-adjusted rates. Data set were analysed using the Joinpoint Regression program.

Results: A total of 81,918 individuals died of oral cavity/base of tongue cancers and lip cancer between 1980 and 2018 in Brazil. The age-adjusted mortality rate for women was 0.47 and 0.57 per 100,000 in 1980 and 2018, respectively. The cumulative female mortality rates standardized by age were 0.01/100,000 for lip cancer and 0.5/100,000 for oral cavity and base of tongue cancers. A decrease in deaths related to oral cavity and base of tongue cancers was identified in the 1980s; however, over the last two decades, there has been an increase in the number of deaths of women with cancer at the base of tongue and neighbouring areas and on the floor of mouth. Importantly, Brazilian regions showed wide variability in trends of oral cavity, base of tongue and lip cancers rate and, in 2018, the regions with the highest rates were the Southeast, South and Northeast for both sexes and specifically for women. The North region showed the greatest recent significant upward trend.

Conclusions: During the last 38 years, Brazil has shown a significant increase in the trend of the mortality rate due to oral cavity/base of tongue and lip cancers in women. Preventive strategies with control of risk factors should be strongly emphasized in order to improve the survival rates of individuals with oral cavity/base of tongue and lip cancers.