Vol. 9, No 1, 2002 pp. 104 - 107
UC 616.61-004 616.613-006 616.617-006
BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY AND UPPER UROTHELIAL
CANCER
IN THE SOUTH MORAVA RIVER BASIN
Rade Čukuranović1, Branislav Petrović2,
Nebojša Marković3, Natalija Stefanović4,
Vladisav Stefanović1
1Institute of Nephrology and Hemodialysis,
Faculty of Medicine, Niš, Serbia
2Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty
of Medicine, Niš, Serbia
3Clinic of Urology, Faculty of Medicine,
Niš, Serbia
4Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine,
Niš, Serbia
E-mail: stefan@ni.ac.yu
Summary. The aim of this work was to establish the incidence, and
trends in the last 30 years of Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) and upper
urothelial cancer (UUC) appearing in the South Morava River basin settlements,
in which BEN is an endemic disease. The data of 102 patients with BEN and
140 patients who were operated for UUC from 1969 to 1998, were analyzed.
The patients originate from 17 settlements classified as endemic, hypoendemic,
nonendemic (rural and city) based on BEN frequency in them. The results
show decreasing trend of BEN and UUC appearing in endemic settlements.
Also, the appearance of these disorders is more frequent among the older
population groups, which is more expressed in BEN case. Significant familial
association of these two disorders is evident. Demonstrated positive correlations
in incidence and age structures in BEN and UUC people, and a family association
of these disorders, give strong support to the speculations about their
common etiopathogenesis.
Key words: Balkan endemic neprophaty, upper urothelial cancer,
epidemiology
