Global, regional, and national burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 1990 to 2017—Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 1990 to 2017. METHODS We collected detailed information on nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 1990 to 2017 based on data from Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2017. The global incidence, mortality, and DALYs attributable to nasopharyngeal carcinoma was reported, as well as the age-standardized rates (ASRs). RESULTS The ASR of nasopharyngeal carcinoma incidence decreased from 1.88 (95% UI: 1.76-2.00) in 1990 to 1.35 (95% UI: 1.28-1.42) in 2017. The ASR of mortality decreased from 1.19 (95% UI: 1.13-1.25) in 1990 to 0.86 (95% UI: 0.82-0.89) in 2017, while ASR-DALYs decreased from 38.2 (95% UI: 35.9-40.2) in 1990 to 25.4 (95% UI: 24.4-26.5) in 2017. CONCLUSIONS The ASR of incidence, mortality, and DALYs of nasopharyngeal carcinoma have decreased slightly worldwide. East Asia carried the heaviest burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The majority of nasopharyngeal carcinoma burden was observed in men, especially among male aged 55 to 69 years.