|
The number of in-patient discharges and deaths due to the malignant neoplasm of nasopharynx, commonly known as nasopharyngeal cancer, continued to rise steadily in recent years. In 2009, 5 602 in-patient discharges and deaths were related to nasopharyngeal cancer, accounting for 3.9% of hospitalization due to all types of cancers.
Nasopharyngeal cancer has been one of the ten leading causes of cancer death in Hong Kong for years. In general, the death rate and age-standardized death rate were higher in male. The death rates and age-standardized death rates for both sexes showed decreasing trends . In 2009, 359 people died from nasopharygneal cancer, accounting for 2.8% of all cancer deaths. The death rates for male and female were 8.5 and 2.1 per 100 000 population of respective sex respectively.
In general, the age-specific death rates of nasopharyngeal cancer for both sexes increased sharply after age 30. In 2009, the age-specific death rates of male were normally higher than those of female in all age groups.
|