[A study on the incidence of cancer and evaluating the quality of the community-based cancer registry in Gwangju Metropolitan City during the first five years of implementation (1998-2002)].

OBJECTIVES: This study is conducted to identify the cancer incidence in Gwangju during the 5-year period from 1998 to 2002 and to assess the completeness and validity of the cancer registry data during this time period.

METHODS: All cases that had a diagnosis of invasive cancer (ICD-10 sites C00-C97) during the study period were retrieved from the records of the Gwangju Cancer Registry (GCR), which theoretically includes all the cancer cases in Gwangju. All the cases during the study period were analyzed by gender, age group and cancer sites. The completeness (mortality/incidence ratio and age-specific incidence curve) and validity (histologic verification, primary site unknown, age unknown and death certificate only) of the cancer registry in Gwangju were analyzed by gender, age group and cancer sites for the 5-year period.

RESULTS: The overall cancer incidence was higher in the males than in the females (age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) 299.8 and 172.4 per 100,000, respectively). In males, the most common cancer was stomach (ASR: 65.8), followed by liver (ASR: 50.5), bronchus and lung (ASR: 50.5), colo-rectum (ASR: 26.7), oesophagus (ASR: 10.6), and bladder (ASR: 10.3) in descending order. In females, the most common cancer was stomach (ASR: 26.8), followed by thyroid (ASR: 20.7), breast (ASR: 20.4), cervix uteri (ASR: 14.3), bronchus and lung (ASR: 13.0), liver (ASR: 10.7) and colo-rectum (ASR: 17.2) in descending order. The overall quality (completeness and validity) of the cancer registry was at the in 'good' level.

CONCLUSIONS: These results will be useful in the overall context of planning and evaluating of cancer control activities in Gwangju.