[Information system on cancer mortality and district characteristics of the Rhineland TUV]

On account of the lack of a comprehensive cancer registry with national coverage for the Federal Republic of Germany, the long-term and interregional evaluation of cancer mortality data is of particular relevance. Therefore, the TUV Rheinland instructed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection, and Reactor Safety maintains an "Information System on Cancer Mortality and District Characteristics (IKK)" using official cause of death and resident population statistics. Mortality data for a variety of different cancer sites are documented with local and temporal separation for the area of the Federal Republic of Germany (before the German unification) and for a period of 20 years. The IKK data can be employed as a meaningful tool for epidemiological investigations relating to the correlation of cancer mortality and environmental agents. In the present paper the principles of the IKK are described and some examples of results are presented.