BACKGROUND The fall in the incidence of esophageal squamous cell cancer and noncardia gastric cancers in western countries parallels a concomitant rise in the incidence of gastric cardia cancer and distal adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. We aimed to investigate the incidence trend of different gastric and esophageal cancers in Kerman, southeast Iran. METHODS The information of all newly diagnosed patients with gastric and esophageal cancers were collected actively from all histopathology departments around the Kerman Province during 1991 - 2002 retrospectively. RESULTS The annual age standardized incidence risks of esophageal and gastric cancers in Kerman were 1.9 and 6.9 per 100,000 populations. In average, the risks of gastric and esophageal squamous cell cancers were more or less constant, while the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus increased around 11% annually. CONCLUSIONS The risks of upper gastrointestinal cancers in Kerman Province were quite lower than the average risks in the whole country. The rising incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus in Kerman parallels its temporal pattern in western countries.