Temporal trends of mortality due to laryngeal cancer among older adults in United States: A CDC WONDER analysis on gender, race, and geographical disparities.

Abstract

e18037 Background: Laryngeal cancer is a significant global health burden arising in supraglottic or glottic regions and accounts for 33% of head and neck cancers. People who smoke and drink are at an increased risk of developing this cancer. This study aims to analyze laryngeal cancer mortality trends among older adults (55+) in the United States (US) and evaluate trend shifts among different demographics and geographical sub-divisions. Methods: The CDC WONDER database was used to retrieve death certificates for patients above 55 years in the United States from 1999 to 2020 using ICD-10: C-32. Demographic indicators of gender, race, place of death, urbanization and state location were used to calculate age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 1,000,000 at a significant level of p<0.05. Joinpoints were calculated for Annual Percentage Change (APC) and Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) using the JoinPoint Regression Program 5.3.0.0. Results: Results show that 97689 deaths were reported due to laryngeal cancer during 1999-2020, with an overall AAMR of 59.9. Trends show a steep decline in overall mortality from AAMR of 80.1 in 1999 to 55.5 in 2012 (APC: -2.94). Later, a steady but slow decline was observed in AAMR of 50.1 in 2020 (APC: -1.37). In gender comparison, males show an average AAMR of 109.7, almost five times greater than the AAMR of 22.3 in females. Among races, African Americans (96.0) had the highest AAMR, followed by Whites (59.4), Hispanics (40.6), and lastly Asians (18.8), having the lowest mortality. Medical Facilities and the decedent’s home accounted for 71% of total deaths, with hospice facilities having only 7% of deaths. Among urban-rural classification, rural metropolitan areas (67.2) had higher AAMR than urban metropolitan areas (58.4). Utah (24.6) has the lowest mortality compared to West Virginia (88.7), having the highest. Conclusions: Though the overall trend in laryngeal cancer age-adjusted mortality rates decreased, there are still disparities among different demographics and geographic divisions. Males, African Americans and the population of rural metropolitan areas are at high risk. Targeted interventions and resource allocation are needed to address these disparities and improve outcomes.