Epidemiology of Incidence and Mortality Due to Head and Neck Cancer in Poland in 2000 to 2022.

BACKGROUND There are no integrated, long-term studies on the epidemiology of cancer incidence and mortality as a whole in Poland, and the publications to date are fragmentary. MATERIAL AND METHODS The analysis of cancer incidence and mortality in Poland was based on the data of the National Cancer Registry in Poland in the years 2000 to 2022. RESULTS The incidence of head and neck cancers in 2022 has increased compared to data from 2000, including oral cavity in total by 39.9%, salivary glands by 30.9%, oropharynx by 82.03%, larynx decreased by 34.5%, eye increased by 125.8%, and thyroid increased by 226.9%. Deaths from malignant cancers of the head and neck in 2022 increased compared to data from 2000, including cancers of the oral cavity in total by 74.8%, nasal cavity and middle ear increased by 33.3%, and eye increased by 70.9%. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of malignant head and neck cancers in 2022 increased by more than 50% compared to data from 2000; therefore, otorhinolaryngologists should intensify their efforts to educate patients about the transmission routes and methods of preventing HPV infections, including the role of HPV infection as a risk factor for head and neck cancers. The most common head and neck cancer in 2022 in terms of incidence was thyroid cancer and, compared to data from 2000, it more than doubled, both in women and men, which is related to, among other factors, overdiagnosis in the thyroid gland. The incidence of laryngeal cancer in 2022 compared to data from 2000 decreased by over 30%.