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 type-1 (HTLV1) is endemic in this island. We determined the incidence and epidemiological features of hematological malignancies from the 715 new cases diagnosed between 1990 and 1998 among the adult population. Incidence rates per year were steady during this period. The most frequent hematological malignancies were multiple myeloma (MM) (34%), followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (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/lymphoma. 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 (5/100000) and a high proportion of T cell NHL among NHL (57%). The high proportion of T cell NHL is probably due to the high incidence of ATL. A low incidence of B cell 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 the USA.