Comparison of the Age-adjusted Death Rates for Cancer in Iceland and Norway

As Japan, Iceland is known as a country having a high incidence of cancer of the stomach. Most inhabitants in Iceland and Norway are considered to have the same ancestors. Taking advantage of the data of mortality statistics from “Population and Vital Statistics in Iceland, 1951-60”, we calculated the age-adjusted death rates for cancer in different sites in Iceland, and compared the rates with those of some other countries. The age-adjusted death rates for cancer of the stomach in Iceland are only a little lower than those in Japan in both sexes. The rates in Iceland for cancer of the esophagus among males and females, stomach among males and females, lung among females, and thyroid gland in both sexes are higher than those in Norway, but it is observed that the rates for cancers of the rectum and the prostate among males are lower than those in Norway.