Laryngeal Neoplasm Mortality in Oklahoma: 1950-1970

A survey of death certificates of victims with laryngeal cancer in Oklahoma for the period 1950 to 1970 attempts to corroborate findings of the current literature. Sex-race specific death rates per 100,000 for white, nonwhite, and American Indian populaces displayed a distinct sex and racial pattern: respectively, 38.52, 28.11, and 12.52 for males; 5.25, 1.23, and 0 for females. Age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 for white males for the four consecutive five-year periods were 19.00, 21.64, 20.91, and 26.81; these rates show constant mortality for laryngeal cancer for the period between 1950 and 1965, followed by an increase of approximately 30% in the 1966 to 1970 interval. Similar analysis of the white females, nonwhite males, and nonwhite females did not reveal such a clear secular pattern, although the adjustment for age did preserve the sex and racial pattern indicated above. Age-adjusted laryngeal cancer death rates of 42.34, 46.14, and 48.51 for the rural, nonmetropolitan, and metropolitan counties, respectively, indicated a direct association between mortality and degree of urbanization. All findings appeared to be in concordance with those given in the recent literature.