Cancer in Iran 2008 to 2025: recent incidence trends and short-term predictions of the future burden

A new article examines recent cancer incidence trends in the Islamic Republic of Iran and presents predicted incidence rates and numbers of new cases for the entire country for the year 2025. This research is a collaboration between scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and colleagues from Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and cancer registries and cancer research centres across the Islamic Republic of Iran. The study was published in the International Journal of Cancer.

The number of new cancer cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran is predicted to increase from 112 000 recorded cancer cases in 2016 to 160 000 new cases in 2025. This represents an increase of 42.6%, of which 13.9% and 28.7% were attributed to changes in risk and in population structure, respectively.

In terms of specific cancer types, the greatest increases in the numbers of new cases are predicted for thyroid cancer (113.8%), prostate cancer (66.7%), female breast cancer (63.0%), and colorectal cancer (54.1%). Breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and stomach cancer were the most common cancer types in the country in 2016 and are predicted to remain the leading cancer types nationally in 2025.

The increasing trends in incidence of most common cancer types in the Islamic Republic of Iran reinforce the need for the tailored design and implementation of effective national cancer control programmes across the country.

Roshandel G, Ferlay J, Ghanbari-Motlagh A, Partovipour E, Salavati F, Aryan K, et al.
Cancer in Iran 2008 to 2025: recent incidence trends and short-term predictions of the future burden
Int J Cancer, Published online 21 April 2021;
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33574

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