Is nasopharyngeal cancer really a "Cantonese cancer"? / 癌症

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is endemic in Southern China, with Guandong province and Hong Kong reporting some of the highest incidences in the world. The journal Science has called it a "Cantonese cancer". We propose that in fact NPC is a cancer that originated in the Bai Yue ("proto Tai Kadai" or "proto Austronesian" or "proto Zhuang") peoples and was transmitted to the Han Chinese in southern China through intermarriage. However, the work by John Ho raised the profile of NPC, and because of the high incidence of NPC in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, NPC became known as a Cantonese cancer. We searched historical articles, articles cited in PubMed, Google, monographs, books and Internet articles relating to genetics of the peoples with high populations of NPC. The migration history of these various peoples was extensively researched, and where possible, their genetic fingerprint identified to corroborate with historical accounts. Genetic and anthropological evidence suggest there are a lot of similarities between the Bai Yue and the aboriginal peoples of Borneo and Northeast India; between Inuit of Greenland, Austronesian Mayalo Polynesians of Southeast Asia and Polynesians of Oceania, suggesting some common ancestry. Genetic studies also suggest the present Cantonese, Minnans and Hakkas are probably an admixture of northern Han and southern Bai Yue. All these populations have a high incidence of NPC. Very early contact between southern Chinese and peoples of East Africa and Arabia can also account for the intermediate incidence of NPC in these regions.

A Case of Lymphoepithelioma-like Carcinoma Arising from the Parotid Gland

Undifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of salivary glands is rare disease, the incidence of which is highest among the Inunit of Greenland and North America. By the way, the relation of Epstein-Barr virus(EBV) with this tumor has not been studied to any great extent here in Korean because of rare number of cases. Correlations between lymphoepithelioma and EBV have been investigated with morphologic and pathologic evaluation. Recently, nonnasopharyngeal neoplasms, which have morphologic features identical to those lymphoepithelioma, called lymphoepithelioma- like carcinoma(LEC). We experienced the treatment of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma arising from the parotid gland and a case is presented with the review of literatures.

Trichinella in arctic, subarctic and temperate regions: Greenland, the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic States.

The transmission and occurrence of Trichinella spp according to the zoogeography of different climatic conditions, socioeconomy and human activity are discussed. Comparing arctic, subarctic and temperate regions, it appears that the species of Trichinella present, the composition of the fauna and the human activity are all very important interacting factors affecting epidemiology. In Greenland, where only sylvatic trichinellosis is present, the high prevalence in wildlife appears closely connected with polar bear hunting. In the Scandinavian countries, the prevalence of both sylvatic and domestic trichinellosis differ widely. Denmark is regarded as Trichinella-free in the case of domestic trichinellosis and sylvatic trichinellosis is very rare. In Sweden and Norway, Trichinella is found in wildlife but domestic trichinellosis is rare. In Finland, both domestic and sylvatic trichinellosis have increased dramatically during the last decade. Among the Scandinavian countries, Finland also has the largest populations of carnivorous mammals. In the Baltic states, Trichinella is frequently found in wildlife and domestic trichinellosis is increasingly diagnosed. The high prevalence in the widespread wildlife populations may have epidemiological importance in relation to the recent changes in production and infrastructure in these former Soviet states.