Background: Cancer is the third cause of death in Iran and its
incidence is rising alarmingly. However, a study reported that
Kohgilooyeh and Boyerahmad (a small province in Iran) seems to
have substantially lower incidence rate of cancer compared to the
other parts of the country. This study is conducted to investigate
the epidemiological features of cancer regarding three key factors
(sex, age and sites of cancer).
Methods: The data collection strategy for this study is similar to
the Iranian National Cancer Registry programme.
Results: For the study period (2007-2009), 660 eligible cases
of cancer were reported to Kohgilooyeh and Boyerahmad’s
National Cancer Registry provincial office with average annual
age standardized rate (ASR)=64.58 per 100000 (74.95 per 100000
and 45.85 per 100000 for men and women, respectively). The five
leading primary cancer sites for both genders in K and B are skin,
stomach, blood, bladder and breast. Regarding the sex specific
incidence rates of cancer, the skin, stomach, bladder, blood and
prostate in men and the skin, breast, stomach, blood and ovary in
women are suggested to be the five leading sites of cancer. The
trends of age-site specific incidence rates of skin cancer obtained
in the current study are essentially similar to what is expected.
Conclusion: Compared to the national and international figures,
significant differences were found in the age-site specific rates
of cancer in the province