Comparison of cancer incidence in Norway and Arkhangelskaja Oblast in Russia.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this investigation was to estimate the site-specific cancer incidence rates in Arkhangelskaja Oblast (AO), and to make a comparison with the incidence in Norway.

Study design: AO is an administrative unit in Northwestern Russia with 1.3 million inhabitants. A population-based cancer registry covering the whole population of the oblast was set up at the central oncological hospital. All new cancer cases in the period 1993 - 2001 among official residents of AO were registered in the registry and included in the study. The annual gender- and age-group-specific population figures for AO were obtained from the regional statistics office. Gender- and site-specific frequencies cancer figures from Norway were obtained from the Norwegian Cancer Registry.

Results: A total of 34,697 cases of primary cancers in AO were included. The age-adjusted incidence rate for all sites combined was 164/100,000 for women and 281/100,000 for men. The incidence among women was 31% lower than in Norway, while the rate among men was the same. Among men, the incidence of stomach, lung, oesophagus, larynx, liver and pancreas cancer was markedly higher in AO than in Norway, while the incidence of cancer in the prostate, colon, bladder, testicle and melanoma was markedly lower in AO. For women, of the common cancer sites only the incidence of stomach cancer was higher in AO. Cancers of the lung, colon, rectum and ovaries were markedly lower.

Conclusions: The incidence of most major cancer types appears to have been quite different in a northern Russian population than in Norway. The incidence among women was relatively low, except for stomach cancer.