[Mortality of primary liver cancer in China from 1990 through 1992].

OBJECTIVE: To study the geographical distribution and mortality of primary liver cancer (PLC) in China from 1990 through 1992. METHODS: A death survey among one tenth of Chinese population was conducted in 1990-1992 and the data on PLC mortality were analyzed. RESULTS: The crude mortality for PLC was 20.4 per 100,000 population (29.0 per 100,000 for males and 11.2 per 100,000 for females), accounted for 18.8% of the total cancer deaths in 1990-1992. In China, PLC mortality ranked second after stomach cancer. The age-standardized mortality rate (adjusted by the world population) of male Chinese was 33.7 per 100,000 which was 2. 2 times as high as that of male Japanese and 4.6 times as high as that of male Italian. The age-standardized rate of female Chinese was 12.3 per 100,000 which was 3.1 and 5.1 times as high compared to female Japanese and female Italian, respectively. PLC occurred in every age group but the mortality rate was highest in the age group of 30-44 years. The mortality was slightly higher in the rural than in the urban population. The cumulative death rate in the urban population was 3.5% for males and 1.2% for females, while that in the rural population was 4.1% for males and 1.6% for females. PLC showed geographical clustering along the south-east coast of China. CONCLUSION: To prevent primary liver cancer remains to be the major task of cancer control in China.