Incidence, Trends and Epidemiology of Cancers in North West of Iran

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Cancer is a leading cause of death throughout the world. Increasing life expectancy and agingpopulation are important factors for increasing cancer incidences in developing countries. National programs areessential for prevention and control of cancer in any society. This study aimed to investigate cancer epidemiologyand trends in the province of Hamadan, located in Northwest Iran. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: This analyticalstudy was carried out based on cancer registry data from 2004 to 2009 in the province of Hamadan, analyzedusing STATA (version 12) software for descriptive tests and Join point 4.1.1.1 software for analytical tests.<br/><b>Results</b>: There were 7,767 registered cases of cancer during the 6 years studied. Of the total cases registered,59.1% (4,592 cases) involved men and 40.9% (3,175 cases) occurred in women. Age-standardized incidencerates (ASR) increased from 72.9 to 132.0 in males and 48.2 to 115.0 in females during the 6 years of the study(p<0.001). The most common cancers were skin, stomach, breast, bladder, and leukemia. In women, teh mostcommon were breast, skin, stomach, colorectal, and leukemia, in that order, and in men skin, stomach, bladder,leukemia, and prostate cancers. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The cancer incidence is greater in men that women in this regionbut with increasing trends in both sexes. Planning regarding education in prevention of exposure to risk factorsand control strategies is required to decrease the incident cases. Screening programs for common cancers inolder age groups might be helpful to reduce the disease impact.