Lip cancer in Northern Finland: changing incidence and clinical characteristics

A population-based survey was conducted in 35 municipalities in Northern Finland to assess the incidence of lip cancer as well as the patient and tumour characteristics in cases diagnosed between 1983 and 1997. A total of 96 new patients emerged. The age-standardised incidence (per 100,000 years) of lip cancer in men decreased from 4.8 in 1983-1987 to 1.4 in 1993-1997. The incidences in women were 0.30 to 0.36, respectively. The median age of the patients increased from 66 to 73 years through the years. Overall, 90% of the patients had at least one of the known risk factors, namely rural domicile, outdoor occupation or smoking. The median duration of symptoms also remained the same, as did the median size and location of the tumour at diagnosis. In contrast, spread to regional lymph nodes became rare during the period.