Trends of oral cancer mortality among females worldwide.

Oral cancer incidence and/or mortality has been reported to be currently increasing in several countries, particularly those of central and eastern Europe. Most of these reports pertain to men, although increases in incidence among women also have been found. In this report, data from twenty-four countries in the World Health Organization's mortality database are analyzed. The widespread increase observed in oral cancer mortality among men is not occurring in women. Nevertheless, increases have occurred in several countries in Europe, and oral-cancer death rates--especially in central and eastern Europe--are likely to increase further if tobacco smoking, in particular, becomes more popular among younger women.