Incidence of childhood cancer in Thailand 1988-1991.

Incidence rates of cancers of childhood in Thailand are presented for the first time, and compared with results from cancer registries in Asia, Europe and the USA. As elsewhere in the world, leukaemia (principally acute lymphocytic), brain tumours and lymphomas comprise two-thirds of all childhood neoplasms. Carcinomas are rare, but the principal sites (liver, nasopharynx, thyroid and salivary gland) are extremely unusual elsewhere. Several features of the cancer pattern correspond to that in other Asian populations (China, Japan, Philippines), in particular the low incidence of Hodgkin's disease, Wilms' tumour and Ewing's sarcoma. Conversely, Burkitt's lymphoma is more common than elsewhere, although this may represent increasing awareness of this diagnosis amongst clinicians in recent years.

Cancer incidence in Thailand, 1988-1991.

Results from three cancer registries (Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Songkhla) in different regions of Thailand and from a cancer survey in the population of Bangkok during the years 1988-1991 are presented, together with an estimate of the incidence of cancer for the country as a whole. Overall, liver cancer is the most frequent malignancy, but there are large regional differences in incidence and in histological type, with very high rates of cholangiocarcinoma in the northeast (associated with endemic opisthorchiasis) but a more even distribution of hepatocellular carcinoma. Lung cancer is second in frequency, with the highest rates in northern Thailand, where the incidence in women (Age Standardized Rate, 37.4 per 100,000) is among the highest in the world. A link with tobacco smoking is suggested by similarly raised rates, especially in women, for cancers of the larynx and pancreas. Cervical cancer is the most common malignancy in women, with relatively little regional variation in risk, while the incidence of breast cancer is low. Other cancer sites showing moderately increased rates include the lip and oral cavity, particularly in females from the north and northeast, where the chewing of betel nut remains common among older generations, nasopharyngeal cancer, carcinoma of the esophagus in the southern region, and penile cancer, especially in the north and northeast. Previous studies which have investigated the etiological factors underlying these patterns are reviewed, and the implications for future research and for national cancer control policies are discussed.

The role of infection by Opisthorchis viverrini, hepatitis B virus, and aflatoxin exposure in the etiology of liver cancer in Thailand. A correlation study.

The incidence of the two principle types of liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma) in five different areas of Thailand was compared with the prevalence of exposure to the main risk factors in samples of the population. Cholangiocarcinoma showed striking variations in incidence, which correlated closely with markers of exposure to the liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini. However, there was little geographic variation in incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma or in prevalence of the major risk factors (chronic carriage of hepatitis B virus and exposure to aflatoxin), and apparently there was little relationship between them.

Cancer registration in Thailand.

Review from the history of the Cancer Registration in Thailand during 1971-1980, shows that the patterns of cancer incidence are less different even if the data NCI received each year was not stable at the first stage of conducting this work (during 1971-1974) i.e., collaboration increased in some years and decreased in some years. Since 1975, the cooperation has been increasing, especially data from provincial hospitals but the cooperation from hospitals in Bangkok is still less due to problems such as lack of personnel who is directly in charge of this work, or problems on routine work system on cancer registration. However, data and statistics on cancer of Thailand which NCI has performed forms the base data for incidence of various types of cancer.