Oral cancer rates have increased approximately 15% from the mid 1970s until the latest (2004) National Cancer Institute Survey. There are significant disparities in some population groups, with higher rates of increase in minority men.
Table 1 presents oral cancer incidence rates for adult men and women of all age groups and for selected racial and ethnic groups.
Oral Cancer Incidence (Table 1)
- Overall, 10.5 adults per 100,000 will develop oral cancer.
- Oral cancer rates are significantly higher for males than for females.
- Oral cancer rates are higher for Hispanic and Black males than for White males.
- Oral cancer rates increase with age. The increase becomes more rapid after age 50 and peaks between ages 60 and 70.
Table 1: Oral Cancer Incidence by Age, Race, and Gender
Incidence of oral cancer in cases per 100,000, by selected characteristics
Source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, National Cancer Institute. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Incidence - SEER 17 Regs Limited-Use + Hurricane Katrina Impacted Louisiana Cases, Nov 2008 Sub (2000-2006), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released April 2009, based on the November 2008 submission.
| Race |
Gender |
All Ages |
0 to 19 |
20 to 29 |
30 to 39 |
40 to 49 |
50 to 59 |
60 to 69 |
70 to 79 |
80+ |
| All Races |
All |
10.5 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
2.4 |
8.7 |
21.7 |
33.9 |
40.2 |
40.0 |
| Male |
15.5 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
2.8 |
12.7 |
33.8 |
51.9 |
58.9 |
59.4 |
| Female |
6.1 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
1.9 |
4.7 |
10.2 |
17.9 |
26.0 |
29.4 |
| White |
All |
10.6 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
2.1 |
8.5 |
21.8 |
34.7 |
41.7 |
41.2 |
| Male |
15.7 |
0.2 |
0.7 |
2.5 |
12.5 |
33.8 |
52.7 |
60.7 |
62.0 |
| Female |
6.1 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
1.7 |
4.4 |
10.1 |
18.4 |
27.0 |
30.0 |
| Black |
All |
10.7 |
0.3 |
0.9 |
2.3 |
10.2 |
25.9 |
35.8 |
37.0 |
27.6 |
| Male |
17.2 |
0.4 |
0.8 |
2.7 |
14.6 |
43.2 |
61.0 |
61.6 |
43.4 |
| Female |
5.7 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
2.0 |
6.2 |
11.3 |
16.2 |
20.5 |
19.5 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native |
All |
7.4 |
0.1 |
0.5 |
2.1 |
6.6 |
17.5 |
28.9 |
22.6 |
16.6 |
| Male |
9.7 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
3.1 |
8.8 |
24.7 |
39.5 |
29.0 |
15.2 |
| Female |
5.3 |
0.1 |
0.6 |
1.0 |
4.6 |
10.9 |
19.7 |
17.4 |
18.5 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander |
All |
7.9 |
0.2 |
1.3 |
3.7 |
8.1 |
15.0 |
23.4 |
25.1 |
31.2 |
| Male |
10.9 |
0.2 |
1.2 |
4.2 |
11.5 |
21.8 |
34.4 |
36.0 |
35.6 |
| Female |
5.5 |
0.2 |
1.3 |
3.2 |
5.1 |
9.1 |
14.2 |
17.2 |
28.2 |
| Hispanic |
All |
6.1 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
1.3 |
4.4 |
11.4 |
20.1 |
25.4 |
27.8 |
| Male |
9.2 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
1.5 |
6.1 |
17.3 |
32.9 |
38.7 |
39.7 |
| Female |
3.6 |
0.2 |
0.6 |
1.0 |
2.7 |
5.9 |
9.2 |
15.6 |
20.9 |
| White Hispanic |
All |
6.3 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
1.3 |
4.6 |
11.7 |
20.4 |
25.6 |
28.2 |
| Male |
9.3 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
1.6 |
6.3 |
17.7 |
33.4 |
38.8 |
40.3 |
| Female |
3.7 |
0.2 |
0.6 |
1.1 |
2.8 |
6.0 |
9.4 |
15.7 |
21.2 |
| White Non-Hispanic |
All |
11.3 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
2.4 |
9.4 |
23.5 |
36.8 |
43.6 |
42.3 |
| Male |
16.7 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
2.9 |
14.1 |
36.5 |
55.4 |
63.2 |
63.9 |
| Female |
6.5 |
0.2 |
0.9 |
1.9 |
4.8 |
10.8 |
19.8 |
28.4 |
30.7 |
Notes:
- Statistics were generated from malignant cases only.
- Rates are expressed as cases per 100,000.
- Statistics are provided by the SEER Program for research purposes only.
- Hispanic and Non-Hispanic are not mutually exclusive from White, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian or Pacific Islander.
- Statistics for Hispanics and Non-Hispanics are based on NHIA and do not include cases from the Alaska Natives and Kentucky registries.
- Statistics for American Indians/Alaska Natives only include cases from the Contract Health Service Delivery Area (CHSDA) counties.
- Due to the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Louisiana's population for the July - December 2005 time period, Louisiana cases diagnosed for that six-month time period have been excluded from these statistics.