Spatial Distribution of Head and Neck Cancer in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The incidence of Head and neck (HN) cancers in Thailand is rising and survival rates not improving. Variations of its incidence among geographical areas may due to various contributing factors.

We focused on data from 25 districts within Chiang Mai province, Thailand. The temporal change was described separately into two periods, 2007-2012 and 2013-2018. The OpenBUGS and the Quantum Geographic Information System were utilized to determine the geographical patterns in the incidence of HN cancer and focus on oropharynx.

The number of new cases of HN cancer was 1,186, of which 835 cases (70%) were male. Among those patients 548 diagnosed in 2007-2012 and 638 diagnose in 2013-2018. High risk patterns of both overall HN and oropharyngeal cancer incidences were found in the central and southern areas of the province in 2007-2013. However, the geographical patterns of the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer showed the changed pattern, with high RR in central and northern areas in more recent period. Over two periods, the RR of the cancers incidence decrease. The RR of oropharyngeal increased in Fang district and it remained high in Mueang district.

This study have highlighted specific areas with a high risk of head and neck cancer and oropharyngeal cancer incidences in Chiang Mai province, along with the spatial inequalities in their distributions, with cluster formation. These results may be helpful in guiding any strategy put in place to respond to the high risk incidence of the cancers in specific areas.