An index for cancer clustering

Abstract

This paper generalizes the index for temporal clustering proposed by Tango in two ways: it allows for nonuniform population distributions across the study period and it is applicable to the detection of disease clustering in space where there are variations in population distribution among categories of the confounding factor such as age and sex. Applications are illustrated with 1833 cases of mortality from uterine cancer in the Tokyo metropolitan area during 1978-1982.