Pattern of cancer in saudi arabs referred to king faisal specialist hospital

Abstract

A total of 7251 histologically confirmed new cases of cancer (4117 males and 3134 females) were seen in the 6-year period 1979 to 1984 at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The crude relative frequencies of cancer at various primary sites have been determined with reference to sex, age, geographic origin, and year of diagnosis. The most common cancer sites among males were non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, esophagus, lung, liver, stomach, and nasopharynx. Breast cancer was the most common tumor among the females, followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and cancers of the thyroid, esophagus, cervix, and ovary. The most marked deviations were found in the Southern Region for cancers of the oral cavity (2.4 times higher), bladder (1.8 times higher), and lung (4.3 times lower). Known etiologic factors, such as local chewing, smoking habits, and schistosomiasis are likely to be responsible for these differences. Upward trends in cancers of lung, breast, colon and rectum, and the downward trend in esophageal cancer may reflect the rapid pace of modernization.

Cancer in the Gizan Province of Saudi Arabia: An Eleven Year Study

“…In 1991, Khan et al 7 studied the Asir region, confirming some of the unique features of the Southern Region that had been emphasized by El-Akkad et al 3 In particular, a marked increase in the incidence of hepatoma and bladder cancer relative to the rest of Saudi Arabia were noted. However, in contrast to El-Akkad et al 3 findings, oral cancer was relatively uncommon.…”

“…The first serious attempt to survey cancer in the whole of Saudi Arabia was a study by El-Akkad et al 3 based on the computerized cancer registry of the KFSH&RC in Riyadh. In this study, an attempt was also made to break down the figures region by region.…”

“…1,3,4,6-8 A high incidence of LL is also reported from neighboring countries -17.5% of all malignancies in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, 15.7% in Egypt and 14% in South Yemen. 29 El-Akkad et al 3 found non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia to have a CRF between three and six times that of Western countries. To some extent this may reflect the relatively lower incidence of other types of malignancy in Saudi Arabia, rather than an absolute increase in numbers of LL.…”

Cancer in Saudi Arabia

“…3 By 1984, the peak age of incidence had become 60-64 years for males and 50-54 years for females, and the sex ratio was 1.3:1. 1 The peak incidence of age in these three studies is still low for both sexes compared to that in Western societies. This could be due to a shorter life expectancy, 4 a generally younger population, or a higher incidence of lymphomas and leukemias which affect young age groups.…”

“…Mahboubi, 2 in his analysis of 11,204 cases of cancer referred to King Faisal Specialist Hospital (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985), found almost the same relative frequency as El-Akkad. 1 When the KFSH results are compared with those of Taylor, 3 who, 25 years previously, published the first paper on cancer in Saudi Arabia based on the Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company) hospital statistics the difference in the size of the problem and the rank order of the 14 top cancers can be seen (Table 3). Twenty-five years ago, the Aramco hospital was almost the only referral hospital for cancer patients in Saudi Arabia.…”