Colorectal cancer in the Faroe Islands--a setting for the study of the role of diet.
BACKGROUND
The Faroe Islands are a group of small islands in the north Atlantic. The population is well-defined and is therefore very suitable for epidemiological research, including dietary studies in relation to carcinogenesis. With the establishment of a cancer registry on January 1, 1994, with data from 1960, inspection of incidence rates and trends in cancer may give clues to areas for etiologic research.


METHODS
We identified retrospectively all incident cases of colorectal cancer in the period 1979-1993, by reviewing all case reports and death certificates in the Faroe Islands.


RESULTS
We found 242 cases of colorectal cancer: 166 colon cancers and 76 rectal cancer, of which 93% and 96% (respectively) were histologically confirmed. Colorectal cancer incidence was significantly lower than in Denmark, with standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) for colon cancer at 0.8 (95% CI = 0.7-1.0) in men and 0.7 (95% CI = 0.6-0.9) in women. For rectal cancer SIRs were 0.6 (95% CI = 0.5-0.9) in males and 0.6 (95% CI = 0.4-0.9) in females.


CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents for the first time incidence rates of colorectal cancer in the Faroe Islands. For both cancer types the most recent standardised incidence rates, 1989-1993, were among the lowest in north western Europe and North America. This relatively low risk of colorectal cancer occurs in spite of a low intake of vegetables and a high intake of total fat. However, the Faroese diet is high in fish, calcium and vitamin D and the possibility therefore exist that the low rates are due to a protective effect of these nutrients and micronutrients.
Dalberg
J
J
Danish Cancer Society, Institute for Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen.
Jacobsen
O
O
Nielsen
N H
NH
Steig
B A
BA
Storm
H H
HH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies