Descriptive epidemiology of cholangiocarcinoma in Italy.

BACKGROUND

Very little data exist on the epidemiology of cholangiocarcinoma in Italy.

AIM: We focus on the descriptive epidemiology of cholangiocarcinoma in Italy.

METHODS

Data on incidence were obtained from the Italian Association of Tumour Registries while mortality data were obtained from the Italian National Institute of Statistics.

RESULTS

A progressive increase of incidence with age was seen for extra-hepatic, intra-hepatic and not otherwise specified cholangiocarcinoma. Crude incidence rates were higher for extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma than those for intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma and in men compared to women. An increasing incidence trend was observed, from 1988 to 2005, for both extra-hepatic- and intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma with a 3-6% yearly increase and with a rate of increase higher for men than for women and for intra-hepatic- than for extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma. For intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma, the mortality rates progressively increased from 0.15 per million in 1980 to 5.9 per million in 2003, when mortality for this cancer surpassed extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Mortality rates for extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma showed an increasing trend from 1980 to 1994 but, in contrast to intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a stable or slightly decreasing trend from 1995 to 2003 was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

In Italy, cholangiocarcinoma showed a progressive increase in incidence and mortality in the last two decades mainly in intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma.