Mortality from cancer of the oesophagus is known to be high in Brittany and Normandy. A morbidity survey was initiated to confirm this finding. A registry was set up in Rennes for the département of IIle-et-Vilaine. In the course of six years (1968–73) 718 cases were entered, 669 males and 49 females; the annual incidence rate for males is 29.4 per 100,000, one of the highest ever described. Most tumours are in the middle third of the oesophagus (49 per cent); 33 per cent are in the lower third. Most tumours were squamous cell carcinomas; 7 per cent were adenocarcinomas. There is an area of high endemicity in the rural areas of the north of Ille-et-Vilaine with rates reaching 60 per 100,000. The relationship with drinking habits is currently being investigated.