Cancer pattern among Greenlandic Inuit migrants in Denmark, 1968-1982

For several cancer sites the incidence among Inuit (Eskimos) in Alaska, Canada and Greenland differs markedly from that in non-Inuit in adjacent areas. This is the first study of Inuit migrants. Among 11,571 Inuit Greenlandic people living in Denmark in the period 1968-1982 we found 69 cases of cancer. Significantly increased risks compared to the Danish population were found for cancer of the rectum (RR = 5.5) in males and for nasopharyngeal cancer (RR = 185.2) and cancer of the cervix uteri (RR = 1.9). The significance of these findings in relation to the role of environmental factors in the aetiology of cancer in Inuit is discussed.