Subject(s)
Salivary Gland Neoplasms/pathology , Adult , Alaska , Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Autoantibodies/analysis , Female , HLA Antigens/analysis , Herpesvirus 4, Human/immunology , Humans , Inuit , Male , Middle Aged , Salivary Gland Neoplasms/epidemiology , Salivary Gland Neoplasms/ethnology , Salivary Gland Neoplasms/immunologyABSTRACT
The records of Alaskan Native patients with gallbladder and extrahepatic bile duct cancers diagnosed during 1970--79 were reviewed. Of 34 cases identified, the primary cancer was in the gallbladder in 29, resulting in age-adjusted incidence rates for gallbladder cancer of 4.4 for males and 17.6 for females. On the basis of calculations applying cancer incidence rates for U.S. whites to the Alaska Native population, a greater than expected number of both Eskimo and Indian patients were diagnosed. A 5-year review of cholecystectomies indicated that nonmalignant gallbladder disease was also elevated in both Indians and Eskimos.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/epidemiology , Bile Duct Neoplasms/epidemiology , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/epidemiology , Gallbladder Neoplasms/epidemiology , Aged , Alaska , Female , Humans , Indians, North American , Inuit , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Biopsy specimens from Alaskan Native patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and from other patients seen on the otolaryngology service were tested for Epstein-Barr virus-specific DNA and nuclear antigen (EBNA). Serum samples from both groups were tested for various EBV-related antibodies. EBV DNA and EBNA results were in agreement in 29 of 31 tissue specimens tested by the two methods. Ten of 11 biopsies containing NPC cells were positive for EBV DNA. Two NPC patients had biopsies that showed only atypical epithelium but were also positive for EBV DNA or EBNA. The other tissue specimens were negative except for biopsies from two patients: one with a parotid gland lymphoepithelial lesion; another with undifferentiated carcinoma of salivary gland origin.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Antigens, Viral/analysis , Asian People , DNA, Viral/analysis , Herpesvirus 4, Human , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/microbiology , Alaska , Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens , Herpesvirus 4, Human/immunology , Humans , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/immunology , Nucleic Acid Hybridization , Salivary Gland Neoplasms/analysisABSTRACT
The records of 20 Alaskan Native patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) diagnosed in the 11-year period 1969-1979 were reviewed. The annual incidence of PHC was found to be high among Alaskan Native males and especially high among Alaskan Eskimo males (7.6 and 11.2 per 100,000 respectively) in comparison to Greenland and Canadian Eskimos and US white males. Familial and geographic clustering of PHC patients was noted in areas known to be hyperendemic for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. A bimodal age distribution among PHC patients occurred with peaks at 15-25 years and 40-65 years. A high prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum of patients in the younger age group suggests that HBV infection might be a factor associated with the development of PHC in young Eskimos. PHC in Alaskan Natives is apparently not closely associated with alcoholic cirrhosis.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/epidemiology , Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Alaska , Child , Female , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis , Humans , Inuit , Male , Middle Aged , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been reported to occur in Alsaka Natives (Eskimos, Indians, and Aleuts) at a rate greater than 15 times the rate for U.S. whites. At least 3 cases of NPC have occurred in close relatives of a Northern Alaskan Eskimo family. All 3 patients had poorly differentiated tumors and have died. Blood groups, HLA antigens, and antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) were studied in the family members. EBV titers were elevated in the 1 NPC patient tested and in 1 of 15 other family members tested. All family members studied except 1 were of blood group A, Rh-positive, and HLA types AW24, CW3, CW40/A2, CW2 and B27. This was the first report of more than 2 cases of NPC in a single family in the United States.