[Initial results of the Netherlands Cancer Registration. Work group annual report Netherlands Cancer Registration].

Since the early 1980s a new set-up for a nation-wide cancer registry in the Netherlands has been developed. Recently, the 1989 incidence rates were published in the first national report. A total of 55,500 invasive tumours were registered (29,500 in males and 26,000 in females). After correction for age according to the European standard population figures, the incidence rates for all malignancies were 443 per 100,000 males and 309 per 100,000 females (excluding basal cell carcinomas of skin). Over 70% of all patients were 60 years of age or older. The most common cancers were lung cancer in males and breast cancer in females, accounting for 24% and 31% of the total cancer incidence by sex, respectively. The incidence rates of lung cancer and other tobacco related cancers in males were relatively high, as compared to those in other Western European countries. The Netherlands Cancer Registry offers new opportunities for clinical and epidemiological research.