[The epidemiological study of esophageal cancer at Yangcheng County in Shanxi]

This paper indicated that counties with higher incidence of esophageal cancer in Shanxi were found to centre round Yangcheng, Jincheng, Qinshui etc. by means of an analysis of the gathered areas on mortality of esophageal cancer in every county or city in Shanxi. These form a higher incidence area of noticeable and centric distribution together with other counties in Henan and Hebei. In all towns in Yangcheng, however, there is no gathered areas. Since 1974, the observed tendency of esophageal cancer in Yangcheng has shown that the mortality ranges from 120-150/100,000, without change in male and in female. However, among the population, the mortality in male is always higher than in female. And it increases with age in people over 30 years. Hereditary epidemiological data at Yanli Town in the county has demonstrated that there is significant difference between the distribution of incidence and mortality of esophageal cancer and the probability of binomial distribution, showing obvious familiar gathering of esophageal cancer.