There are five population-based cancer registries in Thailand in different regions of the country. Four of them (Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Bangkok, and Songkhla) have been operating since 1988 and the other (Lampang) since the early 1990’s. These registries have published regular 3-year cancer incidence reports since the first in 1993 for the period 1989-1991. The objective of this article is to summarize the figures of cancer incidence in Thailand during 1995-1997. The population of Thailand in 1996, at the middle of the period, was 27 million males and 27.5 million females. Information of cancer cases residing in the five provinces was collected and abstracted from different sources. Age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of cancer in males and females was calculated for each registry and that for the whole country was estimated using the five registries as representatives for the four geographical regions of Thailand. The estimated number of new cancer cases in 1996 for the whole country was 35,539 men and 38,476 women and the ASRs were 149.2 and 125.0 per 105 population in men and women respectively. Cancer incidences greatly differed from region to region. Lung cancer was the commonest in Chiang Mai and Lampang in the Northern region in both sexes. The incidence of liver cancer in Khon Kaen in the Northeastern region outnumbered all the others in both sexes; cholangiocarcinoma was the major type of liver cancer. In Bangkok, lung cancer was the most important cancer in males and breast cancer was in females. Though it was lung and cervix uteri cancer that ranked the first in men and women in Songkhla, the rate of oral and pharyngeal cancer was exceptionally higher than in other registries. The geographical variability in cancer patterns in Thailand reflects exposure of the population to different risk factors unique to the different regions. In the study as a whole, there are some methodological weak points in estimating the ASRs and number of cancer cases for the whole country, but the results are the most reliable cancer statistics from Thailand at the moment. In conclusion, both a country-wide and region-specific cancer control programmes are needed for Thailand. The national one would be for the cancers common to all regions, and the provincial-level emphasis should be on cancers which are the major problems in the area.
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