Incidence, Risk Factors, and Temporal Trends of Tongue Cancer: A Population-Based Study
Author(s)
Junjie Huang, PhD1, Chenwen Zhong, PhD2, Martin Chi Sang Wong, MD1.
1The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
1The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
OBJECTIVES: Tongue cancer is the most common type of cancer in the intraoral area in most countries. This study aims to investigate the worldwide disease burden, associated risk factors, and temporal incidence patterns of tongue cancer in demographic subgroups.
METHODS: The database of Global Cancer Observatory, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Plus, Global Burden of Disease, the United Nations and the World Bank were obtained. A multivariable linear regression analysis was utilized to examine the connection between tongue cancer incidence and different variables. Average Annual Percentage Change was used to determine the temporal trend of tongue cancer incidence by countries and regions. The 95% confidence intervals were utilized to measure the accuracy of trend estimations. The incidence rate of tongue cancer was determined by age, sex, and geographic region.
RESULTS: There were in total 151,338 cases globally, with an ASR of 1.7. The highest ASRs were reported in South-Central Asia (3.4), Northern America (2.3), and Northern Europe (2.1). The male population had an ASR of 2.6 per 100,000 persons, a much lower ASR was reported in females (ASR:0.86). Overall, tongue cancer was associated with higher prevalence of smoking (β=0.038, CI 0.016 to 0.059, p=0.001), alcohol drinking (β=0.049, CI 0.027 to 0.072, p<0.001), and dietary (β=0.013, CI 0.002 to 0.024, p=0.025). An increasing trend was presented globally, except for the Philippines showed the only significant drop.
CONCLUSIONS: Geographical variation was observed in tongue cancer, with South-Central Asia having the highest disease burden. The higher incidence of tongue cancer in males may attributed to smoking and alcohol, highlighting the need for intensive lifestyle modifications. HPV infection and cultural habits, were identified as the risk factors, indicating the importance of early prevention, and health awareness promotion. Further study could be conducted to explore the factors contributing to the rising global trend of tongue cancer.
METHODS: The database of Global Cancer Observatory, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Plus, Global Burden of Disease, the United Nations and the World Bank were obtained. A multivariable linear regression analysis was utilized to examine the connection between tongue cancer incidence and different variables. Average Annual Percentage Change was used to determine the temporal trend of tongue cancer incidence by countries and regions. The 95% confidence intervals were utilized to measure the accuracy of trend estimations. The incidence rate of tongue cancer was determined by age, sex, and geographic region.
RESULTS: There were in total 151,338 cases globally, with an ASR of 1.7. The highest ASRs were reported in South-Central Asia (3.4), Northern America (2.3), and Northern Europe (2.1). The male population had an ASR of 2.6 per 100,000 persons, a much lower ASR was reported in females (ASR:0.86). Overall, tongue cancer was associated with higher prevalence of smoking (β=0.038, CI 0.016 to 0.059, p=0.001), alcohol drinking (β=0.049, CI 0.027 to 0.072, p<0.001), and dietary (β=0.013, CI 0.002 to 0.024, p=0.025). An increasing trend was presented globally, except for the Philippines showed the only significant drop.
CONCLUSIONS: Geographical variation was observed in tongue cancer, with South-Central Asia having the highest disease burden. The higher incidence of tongue cancer in males may attributed to smoking and alcohol, highlighting the need for intensive lifestyle modifications. HPV infection and cultural habits, were identified as the risk factors, indicating the importance of early prevention, and health awareness promotion. Further study could be conducted to explore the factors contributing to the rising global trend of tongue cancer.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-09, ISPOR Real-World Evidence Summit 2025, Tokyo, Japan
Value in Health Regional, Volume 49S (September 2025)
Code
RWD201
Topic Subcategory
Distributed Data & Research Networks
Disease
SDC: Oncology