Importance of epidemiology in laryngeal cancer: Incidence and mortality due to squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx

Abstract

The annual diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is 650,000 new cases. The laryngeal carcinoma is a malignant disease that should include an otolaryngologist in its evaluation. The global incidence of laryngeal carcinoma is estimated at 3.9 per 100,000 inhabitants with an overall mortality rate of 2.0 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Chile the cancer registry is based on the five population cancer registries that exist. There is no accurate data on incidence and mortality from laryngeal carcinoma, being an estimated incidence of 1.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and an age-adjusted mortality of 0.7 cases per 100.00 inhabitants. There have been described various environmental risk factors and lifestyles for this cancer, therefore, primary prevention strategies are key to generate an impact on the incidence of larynx carcinoma.