For never-smokers (smoked <100 lifetime cigarettes), lung cancer (LC) has emerged as an important issue. We aimed to investigate the effects of prevalence changes in tobacco smoking and particulate ...matter (PM) 2.5 (PM2.5) levels on LC in Taiwan, in relation to contrasting PM2.5 levels, between Northern Taiwan (NT) and Southern Taiwan (ST).
We reviewed 371,084 patients with LC to assess smoking prevalence and correlations between the incidence of adenocarcinoma lung cancer (AdLC) and non-AdLC. Two subsets were selected to assess different AdLC stage trends and the effect of PM2.5 on survival of patients with AdLC.
From 1995 to 2015, the proportion of male adult ever-smokers decreased from 59.4% to 29.9% whereas the female smoking rate remained low (3.2% to 5.3%). AdLC incidence in males and females increased from 9.06 to 23.25 and 7.05 to 24.22 per 100,000 population, respectively. Since 1993, atmospheric visibility in NT improved (from 7.6 to 11.5 km), but deteriorated in ST (from 16.3 to 4.2 km). The annual percent change in AdLC stages IB to IV was 0.3% since 2009 (95% confidence interval CI: -1.9%–2.6%) in NT, and 4.6% since 2007 (95% CI: 3.3%–5.8%) in ST; 53% patients with LC had never smoked. Five-year survival rates for never-smokers, those with EGFR wild-type genes, and female patients with AdLC were 12.6% in NT and 4.5% in ST (hazard ratio: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.70–0.90).
In Taiwan, greater than 50% of patients with LC had never smoked. PM2.5 level changes can affect AdLC incidence and patient survival.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background
The incidence of different soft tissue sarcoma (STS) histotypes among ethnic and geographic populations has not been comprehensively investigated.
Methods
Data from 2013 to 2016 were ...obtained from national cancer registry databases in France and Taiwan. Liposarcoma (LPS), leiomyosarcoma (LMS), angiosarcoma (AS), synovial sarcoma (SS), and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) were selected as index STSs to estimate the age‐standardized incidence rates (ASRs) and other clinical features between patients.
Results
In total, 9398 patients (7148 from France and 2250 from Taiwan) were included. The ASRs of AS (5.4 vs. 2.8) and MPNST (2.0 vs. 1.0) were significantly higher in Taiwan; France had significantly higher ASRs for LPS (12.0 vs. 10.0), LMS (9.7 vs. 7.6), and SS (1.7 vs. 1.2). Patients in Taiwan with LMS or LPS were younger than their French counterparts. With regard to the distribution according to primary anatomic site, French patients had higher odds for extremity and truncal LMS (odds ratio OR, 2.84; p < .001), AS (OR, 2.67; p < .001), MPNST (OR, 1.55; p = .027), and LPS (OR, 1.38; p < .001) and for breast AS (OR, 10.58; p < .001). Taiwanese patients had higher odds for liver AS (OR, 10.72; p < .001) and uterine LMS (OR, 3.21; p < .001). SS age and distribution according to primary anatomic site did not differ significantly between the French and Taiwanese populations.
Conclusions
Significant differences in the incidence and clinical characteristics of index STS suggested that geographic (environmental) and ethnicity factors likely play a vital role in the pathogenesis of STS.
In two nationwide, population‐based cancer registry databases outside of the United States, the epidemiology of soft tissue sarcoma was investigated between Europeans and Asians. The incidence of five index soft tissue sarcoma histology subtypes differed significantly, as did the distribution according to sex, primary anatomic site, and age, between the two populations, and the results increase awareness that ethnicity and geographic factors are important in the pathogenesis of sarcoma.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
A national viral hepatitis therapy program was launched in Taiwan in October 2003. This study aimed to assess the impact of the program on reduction of end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) burden. Profiles ...of national registries of households, cancers, and death certificates were used to derive incidence and mortality of ESLDs from 2000 to 2011. Age‐gender–adjusted incidence and mortality rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and chronic liver diseases (CLDs) and cirrhosis of adults ages 30‐69 years were compared before and after launching the program using Poisson's regression models. A total of 157,570 and 61,823 patients (15%‐25% of those eligible for reimbursed treatment) received therapy for chronic hepatitis B and C, respectively, by 2011. There were 42,526 CLDs and cirrhosis deaths, 47,392 HCC deaths, and 74,832 incident HCC cases occurred in 140,814,448 person‐years from 2000 to 2011. Male gender and elder age were associated with a significantly increased risk of CLDs and cirrhosis and HCC. Mortality and incidence rates of ESLDs decreased continuously from 2000 to 2003 (before therapy program) through 2004‐2007 to 2008‐2011 in all age and gender groups. The age‐gender–adjusted rate ratio (95% confidence interval; P value) in 2008‐2011 was 0.78 (0.76‐0.80; P < 0.001) for CLDs and cirrhosis mortality, 0.76 (0.75‐0.78; P < 0.005) for HCC mortality, and 0.86 (0.85‐0.88; P < 0.005) for HCC incidence using 2000‐2003 as the reference period (rate ratio = 1.0). Conclusions: The national viral hepatitis therapy program has significantly reduced the mortality of CLDs and cirrhosis and incidence and mortality of HCC. (Hepatology 2015;61:1154–1162)
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Cancer registration provides core information for cancer surveillance and control. The population-based Taiwan Cancer Registry was implemented in 1979. After the Cancer Control Act was promulgated in ...2003, the completeness (97%) and data quality of cancer registry database has achieved at an excellent level. Hospitals with 50 or more beds, which provide outpatient and hospitalized cancer care, are recruited to report 20 items of information on all newly diagnosed cancers to the central registry office (called short-form database). The Taiwan Cancer Registry is organized and funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The National Taiwan University has been contracted to operate the registry and organized an advisory board to standardize definitions of terminology, coding and procedures of the registry's reporting system since 1996. To monitor the cancer care patterns and evaluate the cancer treatment outcomes, central cancer registry has been reformed since 2002 to include detail items of the stage at diagnosis and the first course of treatment (called long-form database). There are 80 hospitals, which count for >90% of total cancer cases, involved in the long-form registration. The Taiwan Cancer Registry has run smoothly for >30 years, which provides essential foundation for academic research and cancer control policy in Taiwan.
Oral cancer is the fourth most common cancer among men in Taiwan. The age-standardized incidence rate of oral cancer among men in Taiwan has increased since 1980 and became six times greater in 2014. ...To enable effective public health planning for oral cancer, research on the projection of oral cancer burden is essential. We conducted an age-period-cohort analysis on the incidence of oral cancer among men in Taiwan from 1997 to 2017 and extrapolated the trend to 2025. We found that the period trends for young adults aged between 25 and 44 have already peaked before 2017; the younger, the earlier, and then the trends declined. The cohort trends have peaked roughly at the 1972 birth cohort and then declined for all ages. Despite the increasing trend in the age-standardized incidence rate for oral cancer among men in Taiwan from 1997 to 2017, we forecast a peak attained, an imminent decline after 2017, and a decrease of 8.4% in age-standardized incidence rate from 2017 to 2025. The findings of this study contribute to developing efficient and comprehensive strategies for oral cancer prevention and control.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background/Purpose Little is known about the annual changes in cancer incidence and survival that occurred after the establishment of the long-form cancer registry database in Taiwan. Therefore, this ...study aimed to investigate the updated incidence and stage-specific relative survival rates (RSRs) among adult cancer patients in Taiwan. Methods Cancer incidence data from 2002 to 2012 were collected using the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database. Age-standardized incidence rates, average annual percent changes (AAPCs), and sex ratios were calculated for adults. Five-year stage-specific RSRs were estimated for cases diagnosed between 2004 and 2008 and were followed up to 2013 for major cancers. Results The overall age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 populations increased from 348.39 in 2002 to 401.18 in 2012, and the AAPC was 1.7% ( p < 0.05), whereas the male:female ratio was approximately 1:3 during the entire period. Most cancer sites showed a trend of increasing incidence, with the exception of common cancers such as cervix uteri (AAPC = −6.2%, p < 0.05), bladder (AAPC = −2.5%, p < 0.05), stomach (AAPC = −2.4%, p < 0.05), nasopharynx (AAPC = −1.2%, p < 0.05), and liver (AAPC = −1.1%, p < 0.05). The 5-year RSRs for Stage I cancers were greater than 93% for the colon and rectum, female breast, and cervix uteri, whereas RSRs for patients with Stage IV cancers ranged from 2.9% to 38.9%, with patients with liver cancer and those with oral cancer showing the lowest and highest RSRs, respectively. Conclusion Our study showed increased incidence in most cancers and provided baseline estimates of stage-specific RSRs among the Taiwanese adult population. Continuous surveillance may help politicians to improve health policies and cancer care in Taiwan.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Taiwan. The age-standardized incidence rate has doubled in just 20 years, causing considerable concern to health professionals and the ...general public. This study used an ensemble of age-period-cohort models to estimate breast cancer incidence trends in Taiwan from 1997 to 2016 and project trends up to 2035. The (truncated) world standard population (World Health Organization 2000) proportions (age groups: 25–29, 30–34, …, 80–84, and older than 85 years) were used to calculate age-standardized incidence rates. The age-standardized incidence rate from 1997 (60.33/100,000 population) to 2016 (128.20/100,000 population) increased rapidly. The projection is that the increase in the age-standardized incidence will subsequently slow and exhibit a plateau in 2031 (151.32/100,000 population). From 2026 to 2035, the age-specific incidence rates for women older than 55 years old (postmenopausal breast cancer) are projected to increase with larger percentage increments for older women. A future leveling of female breast cancer incidence trends in Taiwan is anticipated. The majority of the patients with breast cancer in the future will be women aged 55 years and older. Education on lifestyle recommendations and mammography screening is required to reduce the burden of breast cancer. The results should have implications for other countries which are also confronted with the same public health problem of rapidly increasing breast cancer incidences.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Mapping spacetime disease rates can provide a more in-depth understanding of their distribution and trends. Traditional spatiotemporal kriging methods can break the constraints of geopolitical ...boundaries and time intervals. Still, disease rates in densely and sparsely populated areas are stabilized to the same degree, resulting in a map that is oversmoothed in some places but undersmoothed in others. The stabilized spatiotemporal kriging method proposed in this study overcomes this problem by allowing for nonconstant variances over space and time. A spatiotemporal map of the standardized incidence ratio for oral cancer in men in Taiwan between 1997 and 2017 reveals that the high-risk areas for oral cancer are in the midwestern and southeastern regions of Taiwan, spreading toward the center and north, with persistent cold spots in the northern and southwestern urban regions. However, the corresponding map for breast cancer in women in Taiwan reveals that the high-risk areas for breast cancer are concentrated in densely populated urban regions in the west. Spatiotemporal maps facilitate our understanding of disease risk dynamics. We recommend using the proposed stabilized spatiotemporal kriging method for mapping disease rates across space and time.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK