Incidence and survival variations of upper tract urothelial cancer in Taiwan (2001–2010)

OBJECTIVES: To assess temporal patterns and regional differences in the incidence rate, and factors associated with survival of urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. METHODS: The medical records of 8830 patients with new diagnoses of urinary tract urothelial carcinoma in the years 2001–2010 were retrieved from Taiwan National databases. Temporal trends, regional disparity and related survival factors were evaluated using the Cochran–Armitage trend test, local Moran’s I statistic and log‐rank test, respectively. RESULTS: The annual urinary tract urothelial carcinoma incidence rates (standardized by age) were steady at approximately 3.14–3.41 per 100 000 person‐years. Notably, women had a significantly higher annual urinary tract urothelial carcinoma incidence than men in most of the years studied (range of female‐to‐male annual standardized rate ratio: 2.08–3.25), and diabetes prevalence in urinary tract urothelial carcinoma increased significantly from 12.3% to 23.4% per year over the 10 years. High urinary tract urothelial carcinoma incidence cluster areas other than the latest endemic area of “blackfoot disease” were newly identified by local Moran’s I statistic (P < 0.05). Furthermore, older age, male sex, end‐stage kidney disease and more advanced tumor grade were associated with lower 5‐year overall survival probabilities in the 2001–2015 cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and survival of urinary tract urothelial carcinoma over the decade 2001–2010 were different according to population and regional features. Various urinary tract urothelial carcinoma screening, prevention, treatment and care plans should be developed depending on age, sex, comorbidity and area of residence.