THE incidence of stomach cancer in females living in the north east is 75 per cent higher than in the rest of the State, a conference on Sellafield was told this weekend.
Cervical cancer was 27 per cent higher in the region, Prof Bernadette Herity told the annual conference in Drogheda. She said the cases were recorded in the National Cancer Registry in 1995.
The results were alarming, according to conference organiser, Alderman Fergus O'Dowd of Fine Gael. He called for an immediate investigation. He is bringing the matter to the attention of the Minister for Health.
"This is extremely worrying and the probable causes must be immediately investigated and identified as soon as possible by both the North Eastern Health Board and the Department of Health," said Cllr O'Dowd.
However, Prof Herity said the figures were taken from lust one year and no inference could be taken from them. "These figures do not mean a lot. They would have to be examined over a period of about five years. You can get more cases in one year and considerably less in the next. When dealing with cancers you are speaking about relatively small figures so a variation from year to year can change the picture considerably," she said.
A higher level of male cancer was not found in the area compared to the rest of the State. Stomach and cervical cancer are not traditionally related to exposure to radiation, as leukaemia is, she said. A study by University College Dublin in the 1980s showed there was no evidence of an increase of leukaemia in the area.
"I was asked to obtain figures on cancers in the area for this conference and obtained them from the National Cancer Registry."