Familial clustering of salivary gland carcinoma in Greenland

Salivary gland carcinoma (SGC) occurs at an increased frequency in the Eskimo population. In Greenland the incidence of SGC is 4.5-fold higher for men and 9-fold higher for women as compared with European incidence. The increased incidence is caused by low-differentiated carcinoma. Unusual familial clustering of SGC is reported among two families (five siblings). Peculiar aspects of racial and geographical distribution and possible role of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of this relatively uncommon tumor are briefly discussed with special emphasis on the recently detected association between the Eskimos' SGC and the Epstein-Barr virus.