Preliminary results of a geographic correlation study on G6PD deficiency and cancer.

Checking the resident 1,868 males found to be G6PD deficient out of 15,964 examined, we observed the percentage of G6PD deficiency in male population largely varying among the various Sardinian towns ranging from 1 to over 50%. As preliminary analysis, in 24 towns out of 39 in which the sample was sufficiently suggestive of their whole resident male population, we calculated Standardized Mortality Rates (SMR) for all cancers and linear regression between SMRs and frequency of G6PD deficiency in the same towns. Previous observations suggested the hypothesis of a negative correlation between frequency of G6PD deficiency and incidence of cancer, as we found in the preliminary analysis of this study. The results are not sufficient either to accept or to refuse this hypothesis.