[Epidemiology of cancer of the cavum]

While rare in most parts of the world, cancer of the nasopharynx is shown to be very common in Southern Chinese whether living in South China or elsewhere, is of intermediate level in a variety of Mongoloid populations such as Malays, Thais, Javanese and Vietnamese and the indigeneous peoples of Borneo, yet uncommon in North China and very rare in Japan. Moderate frequencies are seen in parts of the Maghreb, Malta, the Sudan and possibly East Africa. Occupational risk has not been demonstrated and case-control studies have generally been negative. Studies of migrants, notably Chinese of the US, have shown a diminution of mortality for the second and third generation, yet their risk still remains much higher than for white Americans. There is no convincing evidence of elevated risk among low-risk Caucasian populations living in South East Asia. The above findings, which have been held to indicate a genetic predisposition to an unknown environmental agent, are reviewed in the light of the recent discoveries of a characteristic HL-A profile in the high risk Cantonese. Several investigations of the HL-A profiles of groups of contrasting incidence are suggested as these may be of significance in relation to the postulated causal role of the Epstein-Barr virus for this neoplasm.