Cancer among the circumpolar Inuit, 1989-2003. I. Background and methods.
OBJECTIVE
This is first of 2 papers on the Circumpolar Inuit Cancer Review, an international collaborative effort involving researchers and health officials from Alaska, Canada and Greenland. It covers the period 1989-2003, updating the last review (1969-1988) and together provides an overview of the trends and patterns of cancer among the Inuit in 3 countries and over a 35-year period.


METHODS
Inuit cancer cases by age-sex group and anatomic site were obtained from the regional cancer registries. The sources of the age-sex distribution of various Inuit populations include the population registry (Greenland), and annual estimates and periodic censuses (Alaska and Canada). Incidence rates were age-standardization by the direct method to the standard world population of the International Agency for Research on Cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
This project demonstrates the feasibility of international partnerships in cancer surveillance, and when these partnerships are extended to other diseases and health conditions, they can contribute to the development of a Circumpolar Health Observatory.
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kelly
Janet
J
Lanier
Anne
A
Santos
Maria
M
Healey
Sylvia
S
Louchini
Rabia
R
Friborg
Jeppe
J
Young
Kue
K
Ng
Carmina
C
D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D001110:Arctic Regions / Q000453:epidemiology; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D006116:Greenland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D004930:Inuit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*