Spatial auto-correlation of main digestive system cancers in parts of Fujian province

Objective To explore the distribution and spatial clustering of esophageal,gastric,colorectal,and liver cancer at township level in some regions covered by cancer registration system in Fujian province with spatial auto-correlation analysis and to provide evidences for early screening and effective prevention and control of the cancers.Methods Data on incidence of esophageal,gastric,colorectal,and liver cancer and demographic information were collected from the residents in Changle city,Fuqing city and Hanjiang District of Fujian province during the period from 2007 to 2012.Software ArcGIS 10.3 was used to analyze the incidence of the cancers with the global and local Moran's I and G statistics of spatial auto-correlation analysis.Results The global Moran's I index for esophageal,gastric,colorectal,and liver cancer incidence in the areas studied were 0.734 011,0.932897,0.633 696,and 0.644 418,respectively (P<0.001 for all);the global G index for esophageal,gastric,and colorectal cancer were 0.000 024,0.000 020,and 0.000 017,respectively (P<0.001 for all).The local Moran's I indexes revealed 11 high-high regions for esophageal cancer,8 high-high regions and 7 low-low regions for gastric cancer,8 high-high regions and one high-low region and 6 low-low regions for colorectal cancer,and 11 high-high regions and one low-high region and 8 low-low region for liver cancer;the local G indexes disclosed 3 cold spots and one hot spots for esophageal caner,4 cold spots and 2 hot spots for gastric cancer,6 cold spots and one hot spot for colorectal cancer,and one cold spot and 2 hot spots for liver cancer,respectively.Conclusion The incidences of four main digestive system cancer show a non-random spatial distribution at township level in the studied area of Fujian province and there are cancer specific hot spots,cold spots and crisscross regions with high and low incidence of the four cancers.