THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF NONSEMINOMATOUS GERM-CELL TUMORS IN THE WEST OF SCOTLAND 1975-89

A total of 438 males resident in the six West of Scotland Health Board areas were notified to the cancer registry with a diagnosis of terato ma between 1 January 1975 and 31 December 1989. Non-registration was b etween 2% and 3.4%; a further 44 cases were ascertained through indepe ndent listings in the major tertiary referral centres. There were four (1%) duplicate registrations and 16 (4%) were incorrect on the basis of pathology (three) or residence (13). Of these, most (26) were regis tered with alternative diagnoses and eight were registered on the pre- 1985 manual system. The positive correlation between socioeconomic sta tus and incidence was confirmed by linking residential postcode at dia gnosis to the Carstairs and Morris Deprivation Index. There was an inc reasing incidence, both overall and for men aged 15-44 years, with dou bling times of 20 and 25 years respectively. The increase was confined to men resident in the more deprived postcode sectors; the incidence rate among men from the most affluent areas remained unchanged through out the period of study.