Incidence of haematological malignancies in French Polynesia between 1990 and 1995

To determine the incidence of haematological malignancies in French Polynes ia from 1990 to 1995, we collected cases from the local cancer registry, sa nitary evacuation files and all the histopathology and clinical biology lab oratories. All leukaemias, non Hodgkin's lymphomas, and multiple myelomas i ncidence was slightly lower among French Polynesians than among Maoris from New-Zealand and Hawaiians of Hawaii. Standardised Incidence Ratio (SIR) fo r Hodgkin's disease among females was 0.08 when comparing to Hawaiians and 0.33 when comparing to Maoris. Other salient features were a high proportio n of high grade and Burkitt's lymphoma, the absence of Hodgkin's disease af ter 40 years of age, a low incidence of chronic lymphoid leukaemia, and a h igh non lymphoblastic/lymphoblastic acute leukaemia ratio in childhood. Thi s study stresses the peculiar incidence of some haematological malignancies in this south pacific area. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Al l rights reserved.