TY - JOUR

T1 - Incidence and survival of head and neck cancer in the Faroe Islands

AU - Olsen, Sunnvá Hanusardóttir

AU - Friborg, Jeppe

AU - Ellefsen, Bjarki

AU - Jakobsen, Kathrine Kronberg

AU - Aanæs, Kasper

N1 - Funding Information: This study was part of a master thesis and was not supported by any funding. We would like to thank ?ri Brend Bech, Bachelor in Food Science and Technology, for his help with statistical analysis. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Background: The Faroese people constitute a geographically isolated population, and research on cancer in this population is sparse. Thus, this study aimed to calculate the age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) and 5-year survival rates in head and neck cancers (HNC) in the Faroese population from 1985 to 2017. Materials and methods: All patients registered with HNC in the Faroese Cancer Registry (FCR) from 1985 to 2017 were included. The ASIR per 100,000 (World Standard Population) and 5-year survival rates were calculated. We also calculated the distribution of tobacco, alcohol consumption, cancer stages and various timelines.  Results: 202 patients were included in the study (62% men). The ASIR for all HNC was 10.0/100,000 persons-years and was higher among men than women. Women’s survival rate was significantly higher than men’s (p = 0.026). The results imply that oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) had the best survival rate and was diagnosed at a significantly earlier stage. Conclusion: This retrospective nation-wide study showed that ASIRs and 5-year survival rates for Faroese HNC patients in general resembled the ones reported for Danish HNC patients. Timelines for Faroese HNC patients were shorter compared with Greenlandic HNC patients, but longer compared with the Danish fast track programme limits.

AB - Background: The Faroese people constitute a geographically isolated population, and research on cancer in this population is sparse. Thus, this study aimed to calculate the age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) and 5-year survival rates in head and neck cancers (HNC) in the Faroese population from 1985 to 2017. Materials and methods: All patients registered with HNC in the Faroese Cancer Registry (FCR) from 1985 to 2017 were included. The ASIR per 100,000 (World Standard Population) and 5-year survival rates were calculated. We also calculated the distribution of tobacco, alcohol consumption, cancer stages and various timelines.  Results: 202 patients were included in the study (62% men). The ASIR for all HNC was 10.0/100,000 persons-years and was higher among men than women. Women’s survival rate was significantly higher than men’s (p = 0.026). The results imply that oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) had the best survival rate and was diagnosed at a significantly earlier stage. Conclusion: This retrospective nation-wide study showed that ASIRs and 5-year survival rates for Faroese HNC patients in general resembled the ones reported for Danish HNC patients. Timelines for Faroese HNC patients were shorter compared with Greenlandic HNC patients, but longer compared with the Danish fast track programme limits.

KW - epidemiology

KW - faroe Islands

KW - Head and neck cancer

KW - incidence

KW - survival

U2 - 10.1080/22423982.2021.1894697

DO - 10.1080/22423982.2021.1894697

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33719929

AN - SCOPUS:85102913809

VL - 80

JO - International Journal of Circumpolar Health

JF - International Journal of Circumpolar Health

SN - 1239-9744

IS - 1

M1 - 1894697

ER -