Changing Cancer Trends in District Dir, Pakistan: Epidemiological Insights From a 10-Year Hospital-Based Study

Abstract

Background More alarming than the rise of cancer globally is its discreet changing profiles over the years. According to our knowledge, no new studies on cancer have taken place in Dir since 2004. Hence, we aimed to provide and analyze the cancer trends in district Dir, Malakand division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), regarding its prevalence and incidence, and compare it nationally and internationally. Methods A retrospective study was conducted by collecting data from 2647 clinically diagnosed cancer patients of all ages in district Dir, between the years 2008 and 2017, from the Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine (IRNUM), Peshawar. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20 and presented using different tables and figures. Results Out of the total patients, 52.7% were male and 47.3% were female. The most common types of cancers in both genders combined were breast (9.0%), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) (6.0%), skin (5.7%), non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) (5.6%), and brain tumor (5.2%). The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) in males in 2017 was peaking in the age group 60-69 (2707.2) with the most prevalent cancer being NHL (7.7%). In females, ASIR was highest in the age group 30-39 (2500.8) with the majority having breast cancer (18.1%), and in children, ALL (30.9%) was most prevalent. Incidence was highest in 2014 with a staggering 15 cases/100,000 population. Cancer prevalence in females aged 50 and below was significantly higher (p<0.001) compared to males. Conclusion Our study highlights that cancer profiles in Dir in the past two decades have changed with certain results non-conforming to global and regional trends. A follow-up research should be carried out to further ascertain and analyze these diverging results in hopes of drawing a more concrete conclusion from these findings.