Cancer in the natal African and Indian 1964-66.

Abstract

AbstractA survey has been carried out covering the years 1964–1966 to obtain the cancer incidence for Africans and Indians of the metropolitan area of Durban, Natal.Tables of comparison of the standardized cancer morbidity rates between Durban Africans, Durban Indians, Durban Hindus, Durban Moslems, Johannesburg Africans (1954) and English resident in England (four regions) are given.All rates used in this paper are standardized against the African Standard Population (Doll et al., 1966).The overall cancer incidence in Durban Africans of both sexes and Durban Indian females is as high as for most westernized countries. Indian males have a low overall cancer incidence which is not readily explained.The commonest male African cancers are at the sites of oesophagus, lung and liver; oesophageal and lung cancer rates show a tendency to rise.The commonest female cancer in both Africans and Indians is cancer of the cervix uteri. In addition, Indian females appear to be prone to cancers of the whole alimentary tract. This tendency is even more pronounced among Moslem women, who also are much more subject to breast cancers than Hindu women.