Rising incidence of oral cancer in Ahmedabad city

In 1999, an increase in mouth cancer incidence among young men (< 50 years) in urban Ahmedabad was reported to be occurring along with decreasing mouth cancer incidence in older age groups and increasing oral submucous fibrosis incidence associated with areca nut consumption among young men in Gujarat. The aim was to investigate whether the increase in the incidence mouth cancer that had started among young men in the 1990 s was continuing.

Ahmedabad urban population, comparison of reported mouth cancer cases in the population across four time period.

Age-specific incidence rates of mouth cancer (International Classification of Diseases [ICD]-9:143-5; ICD-10:C03-06) in five year age groups among men aged ≥ 15 years for the city of Ahmedabad for years 1985, 1995, 2007 and 2010 were extracted from published reports. For comparison, lung cancer (ICD-9:169; ICD-10:C33-C34) rates were also abstracted.

A cohort approach was used for further analysis of mouth cancer incidence. Age adjusted incidence rates of mouth and lung cancer for men aged ≥ 15 years were calculated and compared.

The age specific incidence rates of mouth cancer among men increased over the 25-year period while lung cancer rates showed a net decrease. Using a cohort approach for mouth cancer, a rapid increase in younger age cohorts was found.

Mouth cancer incidence increased markedly among men in urban Ahmedabad between 1985 and 2010, apparently due to increasing consumption of areca nut products, mawa and gutka. Gutka has now been banned all over India, but a more vigorous implementation is necessary.