Patterns of Cancer Incidence Among the Population of Qatar : A Worldwide Comparative Study

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem all over the world. Monitoring the evolution of thecancer burden in the State of Qatar is of great value but has never been explored in depth. Aims: The aim of thestudy was to determine the incidence patterns of cancer cases, assess trends during the period 1991 – 2006 andmake comparisons with other countries.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study based on the Cancerdisease registry of Al Amal Cancer hospital, State of Qatar, from 1991 – 2006. All Qataris and non-Qataris,males and females, who were diagnosed with any type of cancer were included in this study. The diagnosticclassification of definite cancer cases was made according to the International Classification of Disease 10threvision (ICD-10).
Results: A total of 5,825 cancer cases were registered in Qatar during the period 1991 – 2006with 56.7% in males and 43.3% in females, 35.6% in Qataris and 64.4% in non-Qataris. Incidence rates per100,000 population showed that lung (5.9), lymph node (5.9), bone marrow (4.1) and connective tissue (3.9) werethe top major cancers in men. In women, breast (30.1), genital organs (9), lymph node (6.8), rectum (6.1) andthyroid (5.7) cancers were the leading cancers. There was a sharp rise in the total number of cancer casesduring the period 2002-2006 of 57.1% compared to the period 1991-1996. The incidence rate of cancer casesincreased with increasing age in all cancer types except for breast cancer in women above 65 years old. Duringthe study period, the five most common cancers among women were different from those in men. The incidencerate per 100,000 population of all cancer types in Qatar (63.1) was remarkably lower than the other Middle Eastcountries and the UK.
Conclusions: Cancer is an important public health problem in Qatar, with increase inincidence with age. Incidence rates of all cancers were higher across all age groups of women compared to men.Lung cancer was the most frequent cancer diagnosed in men and breast cancer in women. More epidemiologicalstudies are now required to elucidate the patterns of cancer and related risk factors.