[Epidemiology of prostate cancer in the Limousin area].

OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer is the commonest cancer in men in France, and its incidence increases with age. It occupies 4th place in terms of mortality. The Limousin region, with the oldest population in France, established a regional registry of new cases of cancers in 1998. The objective of this study was to analyse the prostate cancer incidence and mortality data in the Limousin region for 1998. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Based on the cancer registry data and martality data of the department of information on medical causes of death, a registry was established for all new of prostate cancer and all cases of prostate cancer death in patients living in the Limousin region in 1998. Standardized incidence and mortality rates were compared with French data. RESULTS: The crude incidence rate detected in the Limousin region was 149.5 per 100,000 inhabitants and the standardized rate compared to the French population was 124. These rates were significantly higher than those reported in France. The mortality rate from prostate cancer in the Limousin region was 29.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants and was higher than that reported for France as a whole. CONCLUSION: In view of the data for 1998, prostate cancer is a major public health problem in the Limousin region. This excess incidence could be related to the methodology used, the increased awareness of general practitioners of the problems of prostate cancer, who do not hesitate to request individual screening by prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) or the presence of specific risk factors in the Limousin region. Further studies must be conducted in the Limousin region.