History of Cancer Registration in Oman

Abstract

The Sultanate of Oman is located in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula (Fig 1). The total area is approximately309,500 square kilometers and it is the second largest country in the Arabian Peninsula. The Sultanate is composedof varying topographic areas consisting of plains, wadis (dry riverbeds) and mountains. The estimated mid year populationin 1999 was 2,325,460 of which 1,729,330 were Omanis and 596,130 were expatriates. The Omani population shows a sexratio of 103 males per 100 females (1).The Cancer Registry in Oman was established in 1985 as a hospital based cancer registry. Only cases treated in tertiaryhospitals were included. In 1996, with the establishment of the Non-Communicable Diseases Control Section, the cancerregistry was shifted and started functioning under the Directorate General of Health Affairs as a population based registry.New cancer notification forms were developed and distributed to all regional hospitals and sister institutions. The cancerregistrar is responsible for data collection, coding and data entry.