Overall
By Sex
By Age Group
Cancer deaths data are derived from the Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR) operated by Cancer Care Ontario. The OCR contains information on Ontario residents who have died of all types of malignant cancers. Cancer sites were coded using the Third Edition of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICDO-3).
Overall
Over the nine years between 2010 and 2018, 237 Simcoe Muskoka residents died from oral cancer for an age-standardized mortality rate of 4.2 (3.7, 4.8) deaths per 100,000 population. This was not significantly different from the Ontario oral cancer mortality rate of 3.8 (3.6, 3.9) deaths per 100,000.
The chart below shows the trend in oral cancer mortality in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 1986 to 2018, grouped into four distinct time periods. The oral cancer mortality rates in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario decreased significantly when comparing the 1986-1993 and 2002-2009 time periods. The oral cancer mortality rates in Simcoe Muskoka increased significantly in the most recent period (2010-2018) when compared with the 2002-2009 time period, while the overall Ontario rates did not change significantly across the two time periods.
By Sex
Over the nine years between 2010 and 2018, the age-standardized mortality rate for oral cancer among Simcoe Muskoka males was 6.7 (5.8, 7.8) deaths per 100,000, which was triple the female rate of 2.0 (1.5, 2.5) deaths per 100,000. The oral cancer mortality rates for Ontario males and females were not significantly different from the comparable Simcoe Muskoka rates over this same time.
The chart below shows the trend in oral cancer mortality rates for males and females in Simcoe Muskoka from 1986 to 2018, grouped into four distinct time periods. The oral cancer mortality rates among Simcoe Muskoka males decreased significantly when comparing the 1986-1993 and 2002-2009 time periods; however, the rate among Simcoe Muskoka males increased significantly from 2010-2018 when compared with the rate from 2002-2009. The female oral cancer mortality rates in Simcoe Muskoka did not change significantly over these 33 years.
The increase in the oral cancer mortality rate in the most recent period among Simcoe Muskoka males was most pronounced for those 45 to 74 years of age. The oral cancer mortality rates decreased significantly among Simcoe Muskoka males of this age group from 1986-1993 to 2002-2009; however, the rate for 2010-2018 was double the rate from 2002-2009. The significant decrease in the rates from 1986 to 2009 was likely due to changes in tobacco use, as this pattern is similar to what was observed for other tobacco-related cancers like lung cancer over this same period of time. The reversal of this trend for the most recent time period is most likely due to increased infections with the human papillomavirus (HPV) associated with changing patterns of sexual behaviour. It appears that this shift from tobacco-related to HPV-related oral cancers among this population occurred earlier in Ontario overall when compared with Simcoe Muskoka, as shown in the chart below.
By Age Group
Oral cancer mortality increases significantly with age. The age-specific oral cancer mortality rates between 2010 and 2018 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka were highest among those 65 years and older. In Simcoe Muskoka the oral cancer mortality rates among those 65 to 74 years was 15.9 (12.5, 19.8) deaths per 100,000 population, which was not significantly different from the rate among those 75 years and older in Simcoe Muskoka at 20.2 (15.8, 25.3) deaths per 100,000. This pattern was different than what was observed in Ontario where the oral cancer mortality rate among seniors 75 years and older was nearly double the rate for those 65 to 74 years of age. The elevated rate of oral cancer deaths among Simcoe Muskoka residents 65 to 74 years of age was largely due to an increase in oral cancer deaths among males in this age group as described above.
Page last updated June 8, 2022