Cancer Incidence and Trend Analysis in Shahroud, Iran, 2000 – 2010

Background: Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Iran, and its trend is increasing in recent years. National reports state that cancer registries in Shahroud district had 204% coverage in 2008. This study investigated cancer situation in Shahroud with complete details between 2000–2010.

Methods: Data was obtained from national cancer registry software and analyzed after removing the repeated records. World standard population and direct standardization method was used to calculate Age Standardized incidence Rates (ASRs). Annual percentage changes calculated using Jointpoint software and Poisson regression model was performed to calculate cancer incidence trends.

Results: A total of 2240 cancer cases were identified, 1234 (55.1%) in man and 1006 (44.9%) in woman. The mean age was 61.6 years (Confidence Interval, CI 95%: 60.9– 62.3). ASRs of total cancers was 95.4 (CI 95%: 89.2–101.6) per 100,000; this rate was 114.8 (CI 95%: 107.9–121.6) for men and 105.2 (CI 95%: 100.6 –109.8) for women. The average annual increase in ASR was 12.4%, which could not be attributed only to improve reporting. Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in men, and breast cancer is most common in women.

Conclusion: Cancer incidence rate has increased significantly in Shahroud in recent years. A portion of this increase can be attributed to increased incidence of cancers, especially cancers of colorectal, gastric, breast, and skin.