In the Altai Republic, malignant neoplasms occur more frequently among its nonindigenous population. Among the newly diagnosed cancer cases diagnosed in 2001 to 2012, there was 23.4% of the indigenous dwellers and 76.6% of other nationalities. There were differences in the incidence of malignant neoplasms in the indigenous and nonindigenous populations. For the men, gastrointestinal tract cancer is more common in the indigenous population (38.9%) and respiratory system cancer is more common in the nonindigenous one (28.7%). For the women, reproductive system cancer was most common for both the indigenous and nonindigenous populations (37.5 and 39.8%, respectively). There are higher rates of digestive system cancer (28.8%) in the indigenous population and those of skin malignancies with melanoma (15.1%) in the nonindigenous one. The incidence of cancers was 1.7 times lower in the indigenous population than in the nonindigenous one (p<0.001); colorectal cancer, respiratory organ tumors, neoplasms of the skin with melanoma, the urinary tract, lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues are encountered less frequently; esophageal tumors are more common. The mean age of indigenous patients with cancer is 3.8 years younger than that in the nonindigenous ones.