Cancer incidence in the Nenetskij Avtonomnyj Okrug, Arctic Russia

Abstract

Objectives. To assess the overall and main site-specific cancer incidence in Nenetskij Avtonomnyj Okrug (NAO). Study Design. A register-based analysis of incidence in the period 1993–2006.Methods. NAO, a part of Arkhangelskaja Oblast in north-west Russia, has a population of 42,000 inhabitants. The central oncological hospital of the oblast registers all new cases of cancer. All new cases recorded in the study period among official residents of NAO were included in the study, except for secondary malignant neoplasm, cases revealed by autopsy and cancers diagnosed within 6 months of a previous cancer diagnosis. The census and annual sex and age-group-specific population figures for NAO were obtained from the regional statistics office. Crude and ageadjusted incidence rates (to the world standard population) were estimated. Results. The average crude cancer incidence per year was 204/100,000 among men and 194/100,000 among women. Adjusted for age, the incidence was 322/100,000 and 182/100,000, respectively. The most frequent primary site of cancer was trachea, bronchus and lung, which constituted 17.3% of all cases (of which 87% were among men), followed by stomach cancer (12.5%). Breast cancer constituted 17.5% of all cases among women.Conclusions. The results are consistent with reports of a low cancer risk among women compared with men in Russia and compared with women in Western countries and with results that point out that public health measures are needed to curb the lung cancer epidemic among men in Russia. The high risks of pancreas, kidney and oesophagus cancers among men should be investigated further.