Cancer Research in the Arab World: A review of publications from seven countries between 2000–2013

Hamadeh, Randah Ribhi; Borgan, Saif M.; Sibai, Abla Mehio

doi:10.18295/squmj.2016.17.02.003

Cited by 33 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“… 19 Other contributing risk factors leading to the increasing incidence of breast cancer in Arab countries include obesity, family history, hormonal therapy, post-menopause status, lack of education and no history of breastfeeding. 20 Breast cancer was also reported to have the highest incidence rate in females in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, between 2006–2014. 21 Similar to findings of the current study, Al-Janabi et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of Different Types of Cancers Reported in Basra, Iraq

Abood

Abdahmed

Mazyed

2020

Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J

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Objectives: This study aimed to report the incidence and pattern of various types of cancers and their distribution across various demographic groups in Basra, Iraq. Methods: Cancer cases recorded during 2017 at the Basra Cancer Control Centre, the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, the Basra Oncology and Hematology Centre, the Basra Children’s Hospital and at private laboratories were included in the study. Patients’ records were analysed for information related to age, gender, residence and type of cancer. Incidences for different geographical regions and distribution of incidences across age groups were recorded as percentages. The mean age was recorded for patients of different genders and age groups. Incidence rates per 100,000 were calculated for different types of cancer. Results: A total of 2,163 cancer cases were identified of which 2,020 were in adults (93.4%) and 143 were in children (6.6%). Among adults, most cancers were found in females (59%). Patients’ mean age at diagnosis was 51.4 ± 19.6 years for adults and 6.4 ± 4.23 years for children. Cancer incidence rates per 100,000 people increased with age. Breast cancer was the most frequent cancer type found in adult females, with an incidence rate of 60.64 per 100,000 people. The most common types of cancer found in adult males were urinary bladder and lung and bronchus cancers; leukaemia was the most common cancer in children. Conclusion: The findings from this study can be used for predicting cancer epidemiology in Basra, Iraq, and to identify subsets of the population at high risk of cancer incidence. This information will help healthcare providers to adequately respond to the demands of diagnosis, treatment and palliative care for such patients.Keywords: Neoplasms; Incidence; Epidemiology; Demography; Iraq.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of Different Types of Cancers Reported in Basra, Iraq

Abood

Abdahmed

Mazyed

2020

Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J

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“…A small proportion of the studies targeted adults greater than 50 years of age. The lack of representation of the older population has been observed in an earlier review of cancer publications in the region [18] and is a deficiency that needs to be addressed in future studies. Moreover, almost half of the studies were conducted in a hospital or clinical setting, with few being population-based with a public health perspective for prevention and control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Non-Communicable Disease Research Activity in Kuwait: Where is the Evidence for the Best Practice?

Badr¹,

Maktabi

Al-Kandari

et al. 2019

Annals of Global Health

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Background: Kuwait, a small country in the Middle East, is now facing rapid development, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounting for the majority of deaths. Objectives: In this study, we review trends in NCD research productivity in Kuwait and examine to what extent it is aligned with disease burden. Methods: Systematic mapping of NCD papers produced between January 2000 and December 2013 yielded 893 publications. These were defined according to study design, study focus, and risk factors examined. Research gaps were assessed by examining disparities between literature produced and cause-specific proportional mortality rates (PMR) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings: While annual publication rates increased more than two-fold during the study period, many of the study methodologies were descriptive (58%). Only 2.6% were based on high-evidence interventional studies. Cancer, CVD, and diabetes featured in 38.1%, 15.1%, and 9.2% of the publications, respectively. Compared to PMR and DALYs, there was a surplus of cancer research, most of which were laboratory-based studies (27.6%) or of the case-report/case-series study type (26.5%). Smoking was more likely to be addressed in relation to CVD (32.6%) than diabetes (6.1%) or cancer (2.1%). Physical inactivity was mostly examined in its relation to diabetes (14.6%), with negligible representation in the remaining study focus (range 0.3% to 2.2%). Conclusion: NCD research production in Kuwait is not aligned with disease burden or health priorities. We recommend a coordinated action between funding agencies, universities, and researchers in Kuwait to guide development of a comprehensive research agenda that is responsive to the country’s emerging needs.

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“…14,[22][23][24] The incidence and prevalence of hereditary cancer amongst different ethnic populations is often distinct. Cancer is a major problem in the Arab world 4,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] which is delimited by Lebanon and Syria to the north, Morocco to the west, south to Yemen, and Iraq in the east, accounting for >300 million people. The incidence of cancer in Arab countries has increased over the last 10 years, primarily due to lifestyle changes and obesity, as traditional foods are replaced with Western-diets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Familial/inherited cancer syndrome: a focus on the highly consanguineous Arab population

et al. 2020

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The study of hereditary cancer, which accounts for~10% of cancer cases worldwide is an important subfield of oncology. Our understanding of hereditary cancers has greatly advanced with recent advances in sequencing technology, but as with any genetic trait, gene frequencies of cancer-associated mutations vary across populations, and most studies that have located hereditary cancer genes have been conducted on European or Asian populations. There is an urgent need to trace hereditary cancer genes across the Arab world. Hereditary disease is particularly prevalent among members of consanguineous populations, and consanguineous marriages are particularly common in the Arab world. There are also cultural and educational idiosyncrasies that differentiate Arab populations from other more thoroughly studied groups with respect to cancer awareness and treatment. Therefore, a review of the literature on hereditary cancers in this understudied population was undertaken. We report that BRCA mutations are not as prevalent among Arab breast cancer patients as they are among other ethnic groups, and therefore, other genes may play a more important role. A wide variety of germline inherited mutations that are associated with cancer are discussed, with particular attention to breast, ovarian, colorectal, prostate, and brain cancers. Finally, we describe the state of the profession of familial cancer genetic counselling in the Arab world, and the clinics and societies dedicated to its advances. We describe the complexities of genetic counselling that are specific to the Arab world. Understanding hereditary cancer is heavily dependent on understanding population-specific variations in cancer-associated gene frequencies.

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Cancer Research in the Arab World: A review of publications from seven countries between 2000–2013

Cited by 33 publications

References 24 publications

Epidemiology of Different Types of Cancers Reported in Basra, Iraq

Epidemiology of Different Types of Cancers Reported in Basra, Iraq

Review of Non-Communicable Disease Research Activity in Kuwait: Where is the Evidence for the Best Practice?

Familial/inherited cancer syndrome: a focus on the highly consanguineous Arab population

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