Cancer Incidence in Fiji

A cancer registration scheme was started in the Fiji Islands in January 1965. The background to the scheme is described and cancer incidence rates derived from five years' registration are reported. Comparison between the two main ethnic groups, Fijian and Indian, shows that all cancers taken together were somewhat commoner in Fijian males than in Indian but almost equally common in both groups of females. Both island groups show rates substantially lower than those recorded in more industrialized societies, but it seems unlikely that incomplete registration accounts for more than a small proportion of the total deficiency. The cervix uteri is the commonest site to be affected in both races and the present data do not support earlier suggestions that Fijian women are less often affected than Indian women. Thyroid cancer rates are notably high among Fijian women and there is some indication of an unfavourable experience of liver cancer among Fijian men.