In the face of cancer, the French departments are not equal. This is what the new estimates of cancer incidence in France made public on June 11, 2015 by the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS).
This study, carried out on the basis of a certain amount of data collected from 2008 to 2011, shows that regional disparities in cancer appear to be linked to the consumption habits of two main risk factors, tobacco and alcohol.
Cancers: departmental estimates
This work focused on eight cancers in men and women. For men, the researchers were interested in malignant tumors located at the level of: lips-mouth-pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon-rectum, lung, prostate, testis and some lymphomas.
Concerning women, the locations concerned: lips-mouth-pharynx, colon-rectum, lung, breast, cervix and body of the uterus, ovary as well as bladder.
More tobacco-related cancers in the North of France
Results: in men, the incidence rate of lip-mouth-pharyngeal cancer is estimated between 14.6 and 26.8 per 100,000, with a marked North-West / South gradient corresponding to that of tobacco consumption and alcohol.
The incidence of male cancers of the lips-mouth-pharynx, larynx, lung and esophagus is markedly higher in the Nord departments (Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Seine-Maritime, Finistère and Morbihan). In the West and the South of France, these diseases strike less often, as in three Ile-de-France departments (Paris, Yvelines and Essonne).
Women: more lung cancer in the Var and Ile-de-France
According to the authors of the report, the situation is more difficult to interpret in women. For lung cancer, the incidence is higher in the south of France, more particularly in the departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Hérault, Haute-Garonne and to a lesser extent in Var and Ile-de-France.
For lip-mouth-pharyngeal cancers, the number of female cases is low, only a small number of departments have a significant impact. This is the case in Finistère and Pas-de-Calais, as for men.
“These observations could be induced by a geography of smoking that differs according to sex, which would seem less true for alcohol consumption,” say the authors of the study. This work is the first structured approach leading to departmental incidence estimates. This information should enable public health actors to adjust health policies to the needs of the local population.
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