Cancer Source Found in La Rochelle – 6 Districts Affected

This study, carried out by the Poitou-Charentes Cancer Registry, was made public in 2023 but only seems to be gaining attention now, following in particular a recent meeting organized with health professionals from the sectors concerned and an article by our colleagues from France 3. According to the study in question, the inhabitants of the districts of Laleu, la Pallice, Mireuil, la Rossignolette, Chef-de-Baie and Port-Neuf, all located in the west of the city, were more affected by certain cancers than the rest of the agglomeration between 2008 and 2019. This excess incidence concerns lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers (mouth, esophagus, etc.) and affects men.

Bad surprise

In detail, the excess incidence of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract is 33% for men in the neighborhoods concerned and 27% for lung cancers (compared to the department average). Overall, for men, “the risk is not homogeneous with a significant excess incidence of 9% of all cancers and 11% of solid cancers” we can read in the study regarding the districts of Laleu, la Pallice, Chef-de-Baie, Port-Neuf, Mireuil and la Rossignolette.

Women are not left out with “a significant excess incidence of 7% of all cancers and solid cancers” in these six neighborhoods as well. Differences far from being anecdotal, which were “surprises”, according to Marc Maigné, elected official responsible for environmental health policies in the Agglomeration. “We didn’t expect it, we didn’t know it was the case, or to these extents,” he says.

Identify the causes

Faced with this gap, only one question is on everyone’s mind: why? Is it the fault of the factories and the industrial zone in western La Rochelle? Or do these populations have more bad lifestyle habits such as smoking? “We will have to find the cause or causes that explain this excess incidence. Is it linked to what we eat? Drink? Breathe? », Reacts Jean-Marie Piot, president of La Ligue contre le cancer en Charente-Maritime.

“It is likely that if we did the same study in other cities in France, we would also have unpleasant surprises”

To do this, additional investigations will be carried out, in particular a medical thesis in Poitiers and a study by the National Institute of the Industrial Environment and Risks (Ineris), co-financed once again by the Agglomeration and The League Against Cancer.

But we will have to wait at least two or three years before obtaining the first results. A time which may seem too long for the people concerned. “We weren’t aware of anything until a few days ago and we didn’t have much information,” regrets Aline Guibordeau, president of the Laleu, Pallice and Rossignolette neighborhood committee. “Of course we know people affected by cancer, but we were still surprised,” she explains, never having imagined that her neighborhood would be more affected than the others.

Communication problem?

Since then, everyone has their own little theory. “I was told a lot that it was the fault of the water but it could also be linked to the industrial zone nearby,” assures Aline Guibordeau, who deplores being left “in the dark” by the municipality of La Rochelle. “When I went to talk to them about it at the town hall, they referred me to websites… We would like to be more informed and be involved in future studies,” she adds.

If the town hall has indeed not yet sought to communicate with residents of the areas concerned, the Agglomeration does not wish to bury the matter, according to Marc Maigné: “Nothing obliged us to carry out this study and few local authorities do it in France. If we did it, it is precisely to know and to be able to protect the population if necessary. Public health, and particularly environmental health, has now become a priority, perhaps the number one priority in politics. So, we have to put the resources into it. »

Adapt health policies

“Now, we have more detailed knowledge, we will be able to move forward with appropriate health policies. It is likely that if we did the same study in other cities in France, we would also have unpleasant surprises,” Jean-Marie Piot also reacts, thinking for example of Saintes.

Moreover, on October 15, some health professionals from the western districts of La Rochelle (doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, etc.) were made aware of these increased incidences during a meeting in the presence of the mayor, Thibaut Guiraud. “The idea is that they can be even more vigilant than before to better prevent and detect,” assures Marc Maigné.

Present at this meeting was Henri Moret, local general practitioner and vice-president of the Professional Territorial Health Community (CPTS) of La Rochelle. But other doctors from the neighborhoods concerned, contacted by “Sud Ouest”, indicate however that they were not informed of this meeting and do not seem particularly aware of this issue.

The study is also available in open access on the Poitou-Charentes Cancer Registry. If the latter focuses on cancers declared between 2008 and 2019, the elected official responsible for environmental health would like to continue monitoring: “I would now like similar studies to be carried out every two, three or five years. »