[Registry of cancer in Reunion: data of the first five years of registration (1988-1992)].

After explaining the purposes of a general cancer register in Reunion Island and describing objectives and running, main results from 1988 to 1992 are introduced. Comparison with EUROCIM network shows that cancer standardized incidence (all sites) in Reunion Island is at the same level as in Martinique and lower than in other registers. Nevertheless some cancers are particularly frequent. For men, as for most European registers, lung cancer (15%) is the most frequent diagnosed cancer, followed by esophagus and stomach cancers. Reunion Island belongs to areas with highest incidence rates for esophagus cancer. Breast cancer (21%), despite a lower incidence than in Europe, is still the first female cancer, followed by cervix cancer (18%) which incidence, as in Martinique, is very high. We don't notice high discrepancies between mortality rates and incidence rates in Reunion Island during that period.