title: Characterisation of gastric cancer and its relation to environmental factors: a case study in Shenqiu County, China.
abstract: This article presents the results of spatial analysis of gastric cancer and its relation to environmental conditions in Shenqiu County, China. Retrospective data on gastric cancer mortality (GCM) were analysed at various spatial scales, with its relation to environmental factors explored at an appropriate scale. The results considered 2 × 2 km(2) grid as the optimal level for characterising GCM due to the highest Moran's I (I = 0.68, p < 0.01). Then, three clustering regions were clearly identified. Meanwhile, GCM was obviously associated with topography (r = -0.11, p < 0.10), farmland (r = 0.11, p < 0.10), population density (r = 0.10, p < 0.10) and river density (r = 0.11, p < 0.10) in the buffered zones. It indicates that spatial grid technique is suitable for characterising GCM in Shenqiu County, and that GCM was geographically associated with environmental conditions. We suggest that preventive measures for controlling the environment-related malignant neoplasm should not be limited in the regions suffering from this disease but be reasonably extended to surrounding areas.
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: b Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Duanyang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: c Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: c Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: a State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Dafang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: d Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences , Institute of Basic Medical Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Gonghuan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011156:Population Density; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*
keywords: environmental factors; gastric cancer mortality; spatial analysis; spatial grid