Skip to main content
PMC home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1992 Jan;33(1):11–15. doi: 10.1136/gut.33.1.11

High incidence of oesophageal and gastric cancer in Kashmir in a population with special personal and dietary habits.

M S Khuroo 1, S A Zargar 1, R Mahajan 1, M A Banday 1
PMCID: PMC1373857  PMID: 1740265

Abstract

Over a three year period (1 July 1986 to 30 June 1989) all newly diagnosed and histologically proved cases of oesophageal and gastric cancer were recorded prospectively. Some 1515 cases of oesophageal cancer (1050 men and 465 women) and 966 cases of gastric cancer (789 men and 177 women) were registered. Seven patients had simultaneous oesophageal and gastric cancer. Age standardised incidence rates for oesophageal cancer were: men 43.6/100,000 per year; women 27.9/100,000 per year. The rates for gastric cancer were: men 36.7/100,000 per year, women 9.9/100,000 per annum. These figures were three to six times higher than those recorded by cancer registries in Banglore, Madras, and Bombay. The incidence rates for oesophageal and gastric cancer in Islamabad (southern district of Kashmir) were 4.1 to 5.4 times higher in men and 1.5 to 2.0 times higher in women than those for Kupwara (northern district of Kashmir). The incidence rates for oesophageal and gastric cancer in Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs were different. The epidemiology of oesophageal cancer in Kashmir was similar to that found in the 'Asian oesophageal cancer belt'. At the same time Kashmir also had an unprecedented high incidence of gastric cancer. Kashmiries have special personal and dietary habits. Further studies are needed to define the relation between these habits and the occurrence of oesophageal and gastric cancer.

Full text

PDF
15

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Deka B. C., Deka A. C., Patil R. B., Joshi S. G. Carcinoma of the oesophagus in Northern Karnataka; an observation on 161 cases. Indian J Cancer. 1978 Sep;15(3):23–27. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Devesa S. S., Silverman D. T. Cancer incidence and mortality trends in the United States: 1935-74. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1978 Mar;60(3):545–571. doi: 10.1093/jnci/60.3.545. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dunham L. J., Bailar J. C., 3rd World maps of cancer mortality rates and frequency ratios. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1968 Jul;41(1):155–203. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Goswami K. C., Khuroo M. S., Zargar S. A., Pathania A. G. Chronic esophagitis in a population (Kashmir) with high prevalence of esophageal carcinoma. Indian J Cancer. 1987 Dec;24(4):232–241. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kmet J., Mahboubi E. Esophageal cancer in the Caspian littoral of Iran: initial studies. Science. 1972 Feb 25;175(4024):846–853. doi: 10.1126/science.175.4024.846. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Malhotra S. L. Geographical distribution of gastrointestinal cancers in India with special reference to causation. Gut. 1967 Aug;8(4):361–372. doi: 10.1136/gut.8.4.361. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Newman N. M., Ling R. S. Acetabular bone destruction related to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Lancet. 1985 Jul 6;2(8445):11–14. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(85)90058-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Siddiqi M., Preussmann R. Esophageal cancer in Kashmir--an assessment. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 1989;115(2):111–117. doi: 10.1007/BF00397910. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Siddiqi M., Tricker A. R., Preussmann R. Formation of N-nitroso compounds under simulated gastric conditions from Kashmir foodstuffs. Cancer Lett. 1988 Apr;39(3):259–265. doi: 10.1016/0304-3835(88)90068-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Siddiqi M., Tricker A. R., Preussmann R. The occurrence of preformed N-nitroso compounds in food samples from a high risk area of esophageal cancer in Kashmir, India. Cancer Lett. 1988 Feb;39(1):37–43. doi: 10.1016/0304-3835(88)90038-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Tricker A. R., Siddiqi M., Preussmann R. Occurrence of volatile N-nitrosamines in dried chillies. Cancer Lett. 1988 Jan;38(3):271–273. doi: 10.1016/0304-3835(88)90018-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Yang C. S. Research on esophageal cancer in China: a review. Cancer Res. 1980 Aug;40(8 Pt 1):2633–2644. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES