Head and neck cancer, malignant (ICD10 C01-C06 & C09-C13): combined sexes

This is the EUROCARE definition of head & neck cancers, and includes tongue, gum, mouth, palate, tonsils, oropharynx, nasopharynx,

pyriform sinus and hypopharynx, but excludes lip, salivary glands and other sites

Five-year relative survival by diagnosis year and age at diagnosis

	Five-year relative survival (with 95% confidence interval) by diagnosis year				EUROCARE-4	EUROCARE-4
Age at diagnosis	1994-97	1998-2002	2003-2007	2007-2009	##1995-1999	##1995-1999
	cohort	cohort	cohort	*hybrid	Ireland	Europe average

all 15-99	38.4%	44.1%	50.3%	50.7%
(unstandardized)	(34.4-42.3%)	(40.4-47.8%)	(46.1-54.4%)	(46.1-55.0%)

all 15-99	35.9%	40.5%	44.3%	44.3%	37.5%	39.5%
(age-standardized)#	(27.6-44.5%)	(32.5-48.7%)	(35.6-52.9%)	(34.4-54.2%)	(33.8-41.5%)	(38.7-40.4%)

15-44	46.2%	65.3%	83.0%	82.9%
	(31.7-59.6%)	(53.5-74.9%)	(73.2-89.5%)	(69.4-90.8%)

45-54	44.0%	45.6%	60.2%	62.6%
	(35.2-52.4%)	(37.6-53.1%)	(51.6-67.8%)	(53.2-70.6%)

55-64	44.4%	43.7%	43.5%	43.0%
	(37.3-51.3%)	(37.3-49.8%)	(35.9-50.8%)	(35.2-50.5%)

65-74	30.7%	41.2%	39.2%	39.1%
	(23.9-37.8%)	(33.6-48.8%)	(30.9-47.5%)	(30.7-47.6%)

75-99	28.4%	29.3%	34.1%	33.8%
	(19.4-38.9%)	(20.5-39.3%)	(29.6-52.7%)	(21.9-47.1%)

Footnotes:

*Hybrid estimate for 2007-2009 is the most up-to-date survival estimate and is based on follow-up of all cases alive at any point during this period,

supplemented by follow-up 2005-2009 for cases diagnosed in 2005-2006 (to provide more reliable estimation of the first two years of survival).

In practice, the hybrid estimate for 2007-2009 is similar to the most recent (incomplete) cohort, i.e. cases diagnosed 2003-2007, reflecting substantial overlap of data.

# Age-standardized figures use the standard patient population proposed for this cancer by:

Corazziari I., Quinn M. & Capocaccia R. 2004. Standard cancer patient population for age standardising survival ratios. Eur J Cancer 40: 2307-2316.

(Population weights = age 15-44 x7000, 45-54 x12000, 55-64 x23000, 65-74 x29000, 75-99 x29000)

## For comparison, the age-standardized average survival is quoted for countries (including Ireland) that participated in the EUROCARE-4 study:

Sant M. et al. 2009. EUROCARE-4. Survival of cancer patients diagnosed in 1995-1999. Results and commentary. Eur J Cancer 45: 931-991.

Exclusions (as in EUROCARE):

Patients aged <15 or >99 at diagnosis; death-certificate-only (DCO) and autopsy-only cases; second or subsequent malignancies in the same patient

(or the less serious of two or more synchronously-diagnosed malignancies); in situ carcinomas and tumours of uncertain behaviour.