CANCER IN CIRCUMPOLAR INUIT 1969-1988 - A SUMMARY

The results of an international, collaborative study of cancer in Circ umpolar Inuit in Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Russia are summarized. A total of 3255 incident cancers were diagnosed from 1969 to 1988 amon g 85 000-110 000 individuals, Indirect standardization (SIR) based on comparison populations in Connecticut (USA), Canada and Denmark showed excess risk of cancer of the lung, nasopharynx, salivary glands, gall bladder and extrahepatic bile ducts in both sexes, of liver and stomac h cancer in men, and renal and cervical cancer in women, Low risk was observed for cancer of the bladder, breast, endometrium and prostate, and for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, leukaemia, multiple m yeloma and melanoma, Age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) of cancer of lung, cervix, nasopharynx and salivary glands among Inuit were amo ng the world's highest as were rates in women of oesophageal and renal cancer. Regional differences in ASRs within the Circumpolar area were observed for cancer of the cervix, lung, colon and rectum, liver, gal lbladder and breast, The differences in the Inuit cancer incidence pat tern to some extent reflect known variations in lifestyle, diet and ot her exposures, as well as implementation of cancer control measures, F uture research addressing possible individual differences are needed t o evaluate environmental and genetic factors in etiology and evaluate intervention studies.