Blood Malignancies in Mazandaran Province of Iran

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Leukemia and lymphoma demonstrate significantly incidence rates throughout the world andparticularly in Iran they cause serious mortality and diagnosis and treatment expenditures for both families andthe health system. Combined they account for about 11 percent of cancers in Mazandaran province, rankingnumber 2 in prevalent cancers. The purpose of this study was to provide a first general and specific descriptionof leukemia and lymphoma in Mazandaran province. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: In this descriptive retrospectivestudy, entire patient’s data were reviewed which had confirmed diagnosis of leukemia and lymphoma with validlaboratory or pathology reports in the period 2001-2008. The data were collected by Babol health research siterelated to Tehran University of Medical Science. Incidence rates based on age groups, gender, city of residenceand type of malignancy were calculated and analyzed. <br/><b>Results</b>: In Mazandaran province, 1,146 cases of leukemiaand lymphoma were encountered, 5.9 in 100,000 persons on average annually. The highest incidence rates wereobtained at age of 70 or above (26.4) and the lowest at age of 0-9 (2.3).The incidence rates in males and femaleswere 7.1 and 4.8 respectively with a ratio of 1.5. The highest incidence rate was in Babol (7.3) and the lowest wascalculated in Neka and Tonekabon equally (1.5). According to the type of malignancy, non Hodgkin lymphoma,with 2.5/100,000 have the most incidence rate and myeloid leukemia with 1.8 had the lowest. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>:The obtained findings indicate clear differences in incidence rates based on age, gender, residence, and type ofmalignancy. Therefore it’s suggested that in addition to promote data collecting programs, research projectsshould be programmed to define leukemia and lymphoma risk factors in this province.