Cancer in Aden-Yemen: a retrospective study [2005-2006]

ABSTRACT

The collection of credible information on cancer patterns is an important basis for determining the priorities for cancer control. There is no reliable information about the incidence or pattern of cancer in Yemen and, hence, an attempt was made to assess the situation based on hospital data which is the only way to achieve the source of cancer in Aden, Yemen. Four hundred and seven confirmed cases of cancer[155 males, 252 females], seen at the three hospitals from January 2005 to December 2006, were included in the study. The mean age of male and female patients was 48.5 and 48.7 years, respectively. The majority of the patients i.e. 286 [70.2%] were above 41 years of age. The difference between values is statistically significant [p<0.05]. Overall, the most common cancer patterns were from the gastrointestinal tract [28%], breast [22.8%], lymphoma [9.6%], and leukemia [6.9%]. The most common cancer patterns among males was gastrointestinal cancer [36.8%] and among females was the breast cancer [36.9%]. Our study provides valuable leads to cancer epidemiology in Aden, and is considered as useful information for health planning and future researches