Malignant Neoplasm Burden in Nepal - Data from the Seven Major Cancer Service Hospitals for 2012

In Nepal, while no population based cancer registry program exists to assess the incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality of cancer, at the national level a number of hospital based cancer registries are cooperating to provide relevant data. Seven major cancer diagnosis and treatment hospitals are involved, including the BP Koirala Memorial Cancer hospital, supported by WHO-Nepal since 2003. The present retrospective analysis of cancer patients of all age groups was conducted to assess the frequencies of different types of cancer presenting from January 1st to December 31st 2012. A total of 7,212 cancer cases were registered, the mean age of the patients being 51.9 years. The most prevalent age group in males was 60-64 yrs (13.6%), while in females it was 50-54 yrs (12.8%). The commonest forms of cancer in males were bronchus and lung (17.6%) followed by stomach (7.3%), larynx (5.2%) and non Hodgkins lymphoma (4.5%). In females, cervix uteri (19.1%) and breast (16.3%), were the top ranking cancer sites followed by bronchus and lung (10.2%), ovary (6.1%) and stomach (3.8%). The present data provide an update of the cancer burden in Nepal and highlight the relatively young age of breast and cervical cancer patients.