The Need for a National Cancer Registry in Saudi Arabia
1987; King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.5144/0256-4947.1987.263
ISSN0975-4466
Autores Tópico(s)BRCA gene mutations in cancer
ResumoEditorialThe Need for a National Cancer Registry in Saudi Arabia Magid H. AmerMD, FRCS(E), FRCP, FACP Magid H. Amer Head, Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Oncology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, P. O. Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author Published Online:1 Oct 1987https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.1987.263SectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionCancer is a global disease. It is estimated that four million patients will die from it this year. In developed countries the annual death rate is around 150 per 100,000 population. In other countries, cancer mortality is perhaps half this level. In many areas there is great expenditure on the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and terminal care of these patients. Cancer brings about personal catastrophes that are not reflected in economic cost. This type of illness is responsible for a wide variety of psychological suffering, social distress, and financial hardship for patients and their families. Despite recent improvements in cancer therapy with subsequent high cure rates for many tumors, a sizable portion of patients still suffer dreadful effects of the desease, hence the importance of studying its pattern and investigating any potential causes in the hope of achieving earlier detection and possible disease prevention.Worldwide, there are enormous geographic differences in the incidence and anatomic distribution of cancer. Overall survival of these patients also varies, not only due to differences in the availability of medical care but also in the pattern of cancer seen, as some tumors are less amenable to therapy than others. It could be argued that the lower rate of certain tumors in some countries is due to underreporting. In others, there has been a definite increase in cancer incidence during the last several decades, especially with certain tumors such as lung cancer. This is possibly related to the recent increase in smoking habits among the general population in these areas.In Saudi Arabia there is no accurate information regarding the actual incidence of cancer, pattern of malignancy, or survival of patients treated. Most of the information regarding cancer in the Kingdom has, until recently, been assessed by a relatively small number of registries at some referral centers. The King Faisal University, Al-Khobar, has started a population-based cancer registry in the Eastern Province. The information being recorded will reflect the pattern of cancer in that region, rather than for the Kingdom as a whole.Several publications describe the pattern of cancer in the Kingdom. Initial reports have shown a cancer pattern distinctly different from the Western population, with malignant lymphoma as the commonest malignancy.1 Some evidence has suggested an increase in the incidence of cancer among the Saudi population during the last decade with a slowly changing pattern, especially with certain tumors, such as lung cancer, which has recently become common among males.2 Such changing trends have been noted previously in other Middle East countries, such as Kuwait and Iraq.The article by Mahboubi in this issue (page 265) is a detailed description of the possible pattern of cancer in Saudi Arabia as seen at a major referral center. Such relative frequency data do not accurately represent the national pattern and trend of cancer in the Kingdom. This is mainly due to the obvious bias in patient referral and the lack of concomitant population-based statistics. However, one can accept the validity of some of the conclusions, especially as the analyses are derived from a large number of patients referred to a single institution, which is officially the main cancer treatment center in the Kingdom and, until recently, the only one.In order to obtain accurate information on the relative incidence and pattern of cancer in Saudi Arabia, we need a national cancer registry. Data on all newly diagnosed cancer patients should be recorded in addition to survival statistics based on follow-up information provided by the managing physician. This registry should be linked with regional, city, and hospital tumor registries allowing instant exchange of nonconfidential data on patients and on treatment results. This effort will require enormous governmental support. However, it will reap incalculable benefits both nationally and internationally. Such knowledge may provide a clue to the causation of disease and may be helpful in the development of future programs aimed at its prevention. Furthermore, the relative incidence of cancer at different geographical locations may be helpful in properly allocating health care resources to serve these unfortunate patients and increase their chance of cure.ARTICLE REFERENCES:1. Amer MH. "Pattern of cancer in Saudi Arabia: a personal experience based on the management of 1,000 patients – part I" . King Faisal Specialist Hospital Med J. 1982; 2(4):203-15. Google Scholar2. El-Akkad SM, Amer MH, Lin GS, et al.. "Pattern of cancer in Saudi Arabs referred to King Faisal Specialist Hospital" . Cancer. 1986; 58(5):1172-8. Google Scholar Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byMosli H (2019) Prostate Cancer in Saudi Arabia: A Review of the Literature (1975-1996), Annals of Saudi Medicine , 17:5, (510-514), Online publication date: 1-Sep-1997.Al Tamimi T, Ibrahim E, Ibrahim A, Al-Bar A, Assuhaimi S, Gabriel G, Mishriky A, Al-Idrissi H, Al-Sohaibani M and Al-Sibai M (2019) Cancer in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Study (1987-1988), Annals of Saudi Medicine , 17:1, (53-65), Online publication date: 1-Jan-1997.Al Tamimi T, Al-Bar A, Al-Suhaimi S, Ibrahim E, Ibrahim A, Wosornu L and Gabriel G (2019) Lung Cancer in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Study, Annals of Saudi Medicine , 16:1, (3-11), Online publication date: 1-Jan-1996.Shetty S, Ibrahim A, Patil K, Anandan N, Al-Kotob S and Memon S (2019) Urological Cancers in Asir Region, Annals of Saudi Medicine , 13:2, (207-208), Online publication date: 1-Mar-1993.Al-Mofarreh M, Afzal M, Al-Kraida A, Al-Qasabi Q, Fakunle Y, Abul Quasem S and Baez-Giangreco A (2019) Pattern of Primary Gastrointestinal Tract Malignancy Among Saudi Nationals: A Retrospective Study, Annals of Saudi Medicine , 11:1, (15-18), Online publication date: 1-Jan-1991.Khan A, Hussain N, Al-Saigh A, Malatani T and Sheikha A (2019) Pattern of Cancer at Asir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia, Annals of Saudi Medicine , 11:3, (285-288), Online publication date: 1-May-1991. Volume 7, Issue 4October 1987 Metrics History Published online1 October 1987 InformationCopyright © 1987, Annals of Saudi MedicinePDF download
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