What gender differences in cancer incidence changed during the last 10 years in central Italy?
OBJECTIVE
We have investigated whether gender differences in cancer incidence have changed during the mid 1980s to late 1990s, and whether certain changes could be clues for gender-specific modifications in carcinogenic exposures.


METHODS
We used the incidence data from the Tuscany Cancer Registry and computed the standardized (on the European standard population) male-to-female incidence rate ratios (IRR) for two periods, 1986-87 and 1996-97, with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Such statistics were calculated for two age groups, 0-59 years and 60 years and over.


RESULTS
Among younger subjects there was a remarkable reduction in the IRR for smoking-related cancer sites such as oral cavity (IRR from 4.3 to 2.2), esophagus (IRR from 6.2 to 4.2), larynx (IRR from 13.3 to 5.7), and lung (IRR from 6.5 to 3.3). Less evident changes were observed among subjects aged 60 and over, eg for lung the IRR fell from 8.1 to 6.2.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the differences examined were probably due to changes in tobacco smoking which were different between genders during the last decade, with a decreasing prevalence of smokers among males and an increasing trend among females.
Crocetti
Emanuele
E
UO Epidemiologia Clinica e Descrittiva, Centro per lo Studio e la Prevenzione Oncologico, Florence, Italy. e.crocetti@cspo.it
Paci
Eugenio
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012042:Registries; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors