Primary urethral carcinoma in the United States occurs more frequently in men than women, and African Americans than whites, a study found.
Using the National Cancer Insti-tute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, Mia A. Swartz, MD, MS, of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, and her colleagues identified 1,075 men and 540 women who were diagnosed with the malignancy.
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The annual age-adjusted incidence rate was 4.3 per million and 1.5 cancers per million, respectively, the researchers reported in Urology (2006;68:1164-1168). The annual incidence rate rose with age to a peak of 32 per million and 9.5 per million in men and women, respectively, among people aged 75-84 years. The rate was 5.0 per million and 2.5 per million for African Americans and whites, respectively.
In addition, the study showed that the histologic types of urethral cancer varied by race and gender. For example, in men, the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma was 2.3 per million in African Americans compared with 0.58 per million in whites; the corresponding incidences in women were 0.69 and 0.43 per million.
The incidence of transitional cell carcinoma in women was 0.94 per million in African Americans and 0.44 per million in whites. The incidence of adenocarcinoma in women was 2.2 per million in African Americans compared with 0.24 per million in whites; in men, the incidences were 0.64 and 0.52 per million, respectively.
