ESOPHAGEAL AND GASTRIC-CARCINOMA IN NORWAY 1958-1992 - INCIDENCE TIMETREND VARIABILITY ACCORDING TO MORPHOLOGICAL SUBTYPES AND ORGAN SUBSITES

The occurrence of adenocarcinoma (AC) of the esophagus and gastric car dia has shown large increases in many but not all examined populations . This trend is in contrast with a decrease in distal gastric AC and a relative stability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Our study a imed to describe esophageal and gastric carcinoma time trends in the N orwegian population between 1958 and 1992 based on data from the Cance r Registry of Norway. Estimated esophageal AC rates have accelerated o ver the study period, reaching average annual increases of 17% in men and 14% in women between 1983 and 1992. The occurrence of esophageal s quamous cell carcinoma was relatively stable in both sexes. Proximal g astric cancer rates were stable in males and decreased somewhat in fem ales. Distal gastric tumors showed decreases in both sexes, but were m ore pronounced in females. The strong increase in esophageal AC incide nce parallels similar increases in the United States and some other co untries. Although the observed increase may be explained to some exten t by a shift in the classification of esophago-cardial adenocarcinomas , the figures are compatible with a real increase. AC of the esophagus , the proximal stomach and the distal stomach exhibit different epidem iological features, both in terms of sex ratios and time trends, sugge sting risk factor differences between the subsites. (C) 1997 Wiley-Lis s, Inc.