Incidence of haematological malignancies in French Polynesia between 1990 and 1995

Hematological malignancies diagnosed by bone marrow examination in a tertiary hospital at Uttarakhand, India

INTRODUCTION

Hematological malignancies are quite common and affect all ages and genders. The diagnosis involves a multiparameter approach. The geographical distribution of various types of hematological malignancies has been provided by various authors but no such data have been published regarding the State of Uttarakhand in India.

AIM

To study the hematological malignancies at Uttarakhand in India based on age, sex and the type of malignancy with further sub typing wherever possible.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A total of 220 cases of hematological malignancies were worked up from the Reference Laboratory of Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences over an eight year period (1998-2005).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Diagnosis was mainly based on morphological examination of peripheral blood and bone marrow smears stained by Leishman's stain and MPO, Sudan Black and PAS stain as and where required. Distribution of cases was studied based on age, sex and the type of malignancy with further sub typing wherever possible.

RESULTS

The most common hematological malignancy was found to be Leukemia 129/220 (58%) followed b Lymphoma 33/220 (14.8%), Multiple Myeloma 55/220 (24.7%) and Metastatic Lesions 3/220 (1.3%). These malignancies were seen to be distributed throughout all ages with a peak at 11-20 years age group 39/220 (17.5%) and another peak at 51-60 years age group 41/220 (18.4%). We found an overall male preponderance with a M:F ratio of 2.3:1.

CONCLUSIONS

The commonest haematological malignancy in our series was Leukemia. Other diagnoses were Multiple Myeloma, Lymphoma and Secondaries. Multiple Myeloma which turned out to be the second most common diagnosis was an unusual finding.

Childhood malignancies in French Polynesia during the 1985-1995 period

We report an estimation of the incidence of childhood cancer among natives of French Polynesia (FP) during the 1985-1995 period. Our data were acquired from the Cancer Registry of FP and through an extensive investigation of other potential sources of information. The mean population of children between 1985 and 1995 was estimated to be 63 401 inhabitants, 32 487 of whom were boys and 30 914 girls, born and residing in FP. During the 1985-1995 period, 87 incident cases of childhood cancer were recorded among inhabitants born in FP or of an unknown place of birth (n = 2). Childhood cancer incidence had attained 125 cases/million child years and was very similar among girls (126 x 10(-6)) and boys (123 x 10(-6)), this incidence being slightly lower than among other populations of similar ethnic origin: Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR) = 0.8 (95% CI: 0.7-1.0) when compared with New Zealand Maoris and SIR = 0.8 (95% CI: 0.6-1.0) when compared with natives from Hawaii. For both sexes considered together, the most frequent cancer type was leukaemia, followed by central nervous system (CNS) malignancies, neuroblastoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Only one case of gonadal and germ cell tumours and one case of carcinoma were reported. Childhood cancer incidence was predominant among children living in the Windward, Leeward and Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu-Gambier archipelago, but lower in the Austral Islands. The incidence of acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia (ANLL) decreased from 3.3 x 10(-5) between 1985 and 1989, an unexpectedly high incidence, to 0.8 x 10(-5) between 1990 and 1995.

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.

Cancer incidence in French Polynesia 1985-95

OBJECTIVE

To describe the variations in cancer incidence in the population born in French Polynesia (FP) according to the archipelago of birth and to compare this incidence with that of Hawaiians and Maoris.

METHODS

Study of data from the Cancer Registry of FP, evacuation files, insurance records, hospital and pathology laboratory files.

RESULTS

The overall world standardized cancer incidence in FP during the 1985-95 period in the populations born and living in FP was 246 per 105 person-years (PY) among women and 244 per 105 PY among men. The overall cancer incidence was similar to that in Hawaiians, but 25% lower than in Maoris. Digestive tract cancer incidence was a third that of these two reference populations, whereas that of pharynx, larynx and thyroid cancers was approximately twice as high. The overall cancer incidence rate increased between the period 1985-89 and the period 1990-95 in women, but was stable in men. Colorectal cancer incidence was highest in inhabitants born on the Windward Islands. Women born on the Austral Islands had a higher thyroid and liver cancer incidence and a lower breast cancer incidence.

CONCLUSIONS

Further studies are needed to elucidate the variations observed between FP archipelagos, Maoris and Hawaiians.