[Trends in oral cancer mortality in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, 1980-2002].

The current study assessed trends in oral cancer mortality in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, from 1980 to 2002. The official mortality information system supplied data on deaths whose underlying cause was classified as oral cancer, stratified by sex, age, and anatomic site. Death rates were estimated and adjusted by the direct method, using population data supplied by national censuses from 1980, 1991, and 2000 and a population count performed in 1996. There was an upward trend in overall cancer mortality, at a yearly rate of 0.72%. Accounting for more than one third of these deaths, tongue cancer was the main mortality category. Labial, gengival, and retromolar cancer showed a downward trend, while oropharyngeal cancer and cancer in unspecified parts of the mouth and oropharynx showed increasing mortality. Monitoring the magnitude and trends in cancer mortality can assist the planning of health initiatives aimed at reducing the disease burden from oral cancer in Brazil.