Cancer incidence in the Netherlands Antilles: a survey covering the period 1968--1979.

In 1977 a retrospective study was started into the cancer incidence in the Netherlands Antilles, simultaneously with the onset of a cancer registry. This paper presents the results of this study and of the running registry, together covering a period of 12 years. In total, 1496 cancer cases were registered in males, and 1480 in females. The resulting age-standardized cancer rate (World Standard Population) was 215 cases per 100,000 males and 164 cases per 100,000 females. The most frequently involved primary sites in males were, in order of frequency, lung, stomach, prostate, skin, and esophagus. Cancer in females was most frequently found in breast, uterine cervix, skin, stomach and esophagus. A comparison is made with countries inside and outside the Caribbean region, and a short comment is made on possibly etiologic factors.