Cancer Incidence in the Republic of Panama, 1974–78

Data were examined from the Panama National Cancer Register, which was created by the Panamanian National Oncology Institute in 1974 to record data on all histopathologically diagnosed cancers in the Republic. Age- and sex-specific incidence rates were summarized for all cancers registered between 1974 and 1978. The age-adjusted incidences of invasive cervical cancer (37.8/100,000 population), penis cancer (1.9/100,000), and oral cancer (male, 3.2/100,000; female, 3.7/100,000) were among the highest in the world. In addition, both male and female genital cancers were clustered in rural Herrera Province (age-adjusted incidence: cervix, 84.7; and penis, 4.3).