Gender Disparities in Epidemiology Treatment and Outcome for Head and Neck Cancer in Germany: A Population-Based Long-Term Analysis from 1996 to 2016 of the Thuringian Cancer Registry

摘要

Head and neck cancer (HNC) comprises a heterogeneous group of cancers. Not much population-based data has been published on gender disparities related to the incidences between different age groups, subsites, tumor stages, and its effect on therapy decisions. All new HNC cases from Thuringia between 1996 and 2016 were analyzed. The incidence of head and neck cancer still was 4-fold higher in men compared to women. Incidence reached a peak for men between 60–64 years, where the incidence increased with older age in women. Male gender, higher tumor stage and subsite (worst: hypopharyngeal cancer) still had a major negative impact on the survival of the patients. Treatment decisions were different between male and female patients, especially in older patients with a tendency to less aggressive therapy. Putting all patients together, there probably was no improvement in survival beyond changes in treatment over the observation period from 1996 to 2016.