Damgacioglu H, Sonawane K, Zhu Y, et al. - Analyzing recent trends in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, it was realized that there is a necessity for enhanced OPC prevention to combat increasing disease burden and mortality, and future research is also needed to understand geographic variations.

• In this cross-sectional study, a total of 260 182 patients with OPC were analyzed.

• A rise in OPC incidence, that is 2.7% per year during 2001 through 2017, has been noted among men, with the most pronounced increase (3.1% per year) witnessed for patients diagnosed with regional stage.

• In males, rises of over 3.5% per year were noted to be largely clustered in the Southeastern and Midwestern states, and in females, an increment of over 2% per year was also mostly concentrated in the Southeast and Midwest.

• In men, overall OPC incidence-based mortality rose 2.1% per year.

• These observations indicate a continued national rise in OPC incidence in men in the US, with rapid increases among the elderly population.