Epidemiology

British Journal of Cancer (2006) 95, 1269–1273. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6603413 www.bjcancer.com
Published online 10 October 2006

Incidence rate trends of histological subtypes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Hong Kong

L A Tse1, I T-S Yu1, O W-K Mang2 and S-L Wong1

  1. 1Department of Community and Family Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  2. 2Hong Kong Cancer Registry, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, China

Correspondence: Professor IT YU, E-mail: iyu@cuhk.edu.hk

Received 26 June 2006; Revised 23 August 2006; Accepted 8 September 2006; Published online 10 October 2006.

Top

Abstract

The overall decline in incidence rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Hong Kong during 1988–2002 was limited primarily to a decrease in keratinising carcinoma, which could be explained by the decline in cigarette smoking. Genetic and Epstein–Barr virus interactions may explain the relatively stable incidence rate of non-keratinising carcinoma.

Keywords:

nasopharyngeal neoplasm, incidence, trend, age–period–cohort models, aetiology