Incidence of hematological malignancies in Martinique, French West Indies,overrepresentation of multiple myeloma and adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma

A registry of hematological malignancies is held in the unit of cytology of the University Hospital of Martinique. Human T cell lymphotropic virus typ e-1 (HTLV1) is endemic in this island. We determined the incidence and epid emiological features of hematological malignancies from the 715 new cases d iagnosed between 1990 and 1998 among the adult population. Incidence rates per year were steady during this period. The most frequent hematological ma lignancies were multiple myeloma (MM) (34%), followed by non-Hodgkin's lymp homa (NHL) (23%). Among the cases of NHL with an immunohistological study, 57% had a T cell phenotype. Among these 61% were adult T cell leukemia/lymp homa. Epidemiological data on hematological malignancies in the West Indies has not been previously reported. There are two striking differences with other population-based registries: a high incidence of MM (5/100 000) and a high proportion of T cell NHL among NHL (57%). The high proportion of T ce ll NHL is probably due to the high incidence of ATL. A low incidence of B c ell NHL might also contribute to this effect. The increased incidence of MM in West Indies had not been previously reported. A similar high incidence of MM has been reported among Afro-Americans in