The Calvados Registry of Digestive Tract Tumours registered 620 cases (582 males and 38 females) of oesophageal cancer during a six-year period (1978-1983). The age-standardized incidence rate (world standard) was 29.6 per 100,000 for males and 1.2 for females. The sex-ratio was 25. The rural area was a high-risk region compared to the urban, the age standardized rate was 38.8 per 100,000 vs 26.1 for males. The cantons from Caen showed a low risk compared to the departement as a whole (SIR = 69), while certain clustered cantons showed a high risk (SIR greater than 200). An important proportion of poor housing characterized those cantons. Agriculture, industry and building were high-risk sectors, the SIR were respectively 191, 135 and 170. The risk of oesophageal cancer is twelve times higher in manual workers, agricultural or other, than in those in management or craftsmen.