Epidemiology of laryngeal cancer in Brazil: Historical data from 2000 to 2019

To determine the incidence, morbidity, and mortality rate of laryngeal cancer in two decades and its epidemiological, clinical, and histological characteristics by sex in Brazil.

This ecological study used three reliable sources of secondary data: population- and hospital-based cancer registries and the national mortality database. All data available from 2000 to 2019 were considered.

The incidence of male laryngeal cancer decreased from 9.20 to 4.95 per 100,000 from 2000 to 2018, while mortality slightly decreased from 3.37 to 3.30 per 100,000 from 2000 to 2019. In the same period, the female incidence decreased from 1.26 to 0.48 per 100,000; however, mortality slightly increased from 0.34 to 0.36 per 100,000. Of 221,566 individuals with head and neck cancer, 27 % presented laryngeal cancer. The median age was 61 years (54-69), and most individuals were male (86.6 %), smokers (66.2 %), diagnosed with locally advanced cancer (66.7 %), and squamous cell carcinoma as the main histological type (93.2 %). Male tended to be older (p < 0.001), white (p < 0.001), smokers (p < 0.001), and present late treatment initiation (p < 0.001) and early death (p < 0.001) compared with female.

The male laryngeal cancer affected mainly at productive age but with a decreased incidence, probably due to a reduction in smoking habit. However, mortality did not change, which may be explained by the late diagnosis and lack of access to radiotherapy.