Epidemiology of cancer of the middle ear cleft.

Cancer of the middle ear is an uncommon tumor which has a very poor prognosis. A population-based analysis shows that there are two marked differences between men and women for middle ear cancer in England and Wales: (1) the incidence rate in men continues to rise with advancing age, but in women the rise is proportionately much less after 75 years of age; and (2) the mortality rate in men decreases after 70 to 75 years of age, whereas the mortality for women continues to rise with advancing age. The significance of these differences is not yet clear. No other epidemiologic reports related to middle ear cancer has been found in the literature.