Background: Nasopharyngeal cancer is a disease with distinct ethnic and geographical distribution. The aimof this review was to describe the epidemiological characteristics of nasopharyngeal cancer in Iran from 2004to 2009 because no systematic study has been performed to evaluate the trends of its incidence yet. Materialsand Methods: The data were derived from the databases of the National Cancer Data System Registry in theperiod of 2004-2009. Nasopharyngeal cancers were classified according to the International Classification ofDiseases for Oncology. Incidence rates and trends were calculated and evaluated by gender, age decade, andhistopathology types. Results: A total of 1,637 nasopharyngeal cancers were registered in Iran from 2004 to 2009giving an incidence of 0.38 per 100,000. The male-to-female ratio was 2.08:1. The trend of incidence was found tohave increased, with a significant increase observed in males. Undifferentiated carcinoma was the most commonhistopathology type in all the age decades. Conclusions: Because the incidence of nasopharyngeal cancers inIran has increased, especially in males, further studies are recommended for understanding of the etiologicalfactors involved in the rise of the disease.
)