Epidemiological Aspects of Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer in Kerman Province, South Eastern Iran

Background: epidemiologic aspects of oral and pharyngeal cancers in iran have not been studied adequately. we evaluatedage-adjusted incidence rates by sex using pathological confirmed cases between 1991 and 2002 in kerman province, southeastern iran.methods: the information of cases was collected actively from all of the 18 histopathology departments around the province.the standardize risks were estimated using standard world population and the risk ratio for age and sex were estimatedusing negative binomial model.results: the total number of newly diagnosed malignant oral and pharyngeal cancers was 334, represented 3.1% of allnewly diagnosed cancers. the age-adjusted incidence rate for oropharyngeal cancers was 2.21 cases per 100 000 populationsper year. the results suggested that those age 40 and over were 18.1 times more likely to develop oral and pharyngealcancer than the younger group. the risk of developing oral and pharyngeal cancers was 1.75 times more common in malesthan females.conclusion: this study showed that the overall incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancers in kerman province was lowerthan that in most parts of the world. the lower incidence might be due to behavioral differences such as low consumption ofalcohol, chewing tobacco, and spicy foods.