Primary liver cancer (ICD-9 155)

There was very little variation in the incidence rate except for Norway where the rate was less than one-half that of the other countries.

Among men (but not in women) there was an increased incidence in some parts of Russia. An urban excess was seen in almost all countries.

The mortality rates were close to incidence rates and even exceeded them in several countries. In Poland the official mortality rate in women was 70%, and in men 17% higher than the incidence rate.

There are obvious differences in classification and/or registration practices concerning primary liver cancer. The most likely deaths of metastatic liver cancers are registered as primary liver cancer deaths in Poland, whereas in Norway the criteria of accepting a liver cancer as a primary one seem to be exceptionally strict. The incidence of primary liver cancer in Norway was actually zero until the early 1960s (Tulinius et al. 1992). The increased incidence in men in larger cities and in some parts of Russia might be related to alcohol consumption.