2014/11/14 by Tzer‐Zen Hwang, Jenn‐Ren Hsiao, Chia‐Rung Tsai +1 · 104 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Cancer #Cancer registry #Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research #Cervical Cancer and HPV Research #Cervical cancer #Demography #Epidemiology #Gynecology #HPV infection #Head and Neck Cancer Studies #Head and neck cancer #Human papillomavirus #Immunology #Incidence (geometry) #Internal medicine #Medicine #Oncology #Papillomaviridae #Tonsil #Young adult
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/ijc.29330
published in International Journal of Cancer 137(2), 395-408 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2014/11/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Recent studies suggested that human papillomavirus (HPV) is an emerging risk factor of head and neck cancer (HNC), particularly for oropharyngeal cancer. Studies from the West showed a rising trend of HPV-related HNC despite a decrease of the overall HNC incidence. In contrast, the overall HNC incidence in Taiwan has continued to rise. It is not clear whether the incidence trends of HPV-related HNC in Taiwan have a similar pattern to those from countries with an overall decreasing incidence of HNC. This study examined the incidence trends of HPV-related and HPV-unrelated HNC in Taiwan using data from the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Our results showed that the incidence trends of HPV-related and HPV-unrelated HNC in Taiwan both rose during 1995-2009. The incidence of HPV-related HNC (1.3 per 100,000 in 1995 to 3.3 in 2009, annual percentage change (APC) = 6.9, p < 0.0001) rose more rapidly than the incidence of HPV-unrelated HNC (10.4 per 100,000 in 1995 to 21.7 in 2009, APC = 5.0, p < 0.0001). The rising trend of HPV-related HNC was particularly prominent for HNC occurring in tonsil (APC = 8.2, p < 0.0001), in men (APC = 7.5, p < 0.0001), and in those aged between 40 and 50 years (APC = 8.5, p < 0.0001). Although the overall incidence of HNC in Taiwan has continued to increase, the most rapid rise is in the HPV-related HNC. This suggests that similar to the Western world, HPV-related HNC is becoming an important public health issue in Taiwan.