Cancer survey in south iran with special reference to gastrointestinal neoplasms

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
To supplement existing data on cancer epidemiology for Iran, a survey covering an 8‐year period (1962–1969) was carried out among the indigenous population of Fars, a southern province of the country. A total of 1,987 male and 1,288 female cancer cases were studied, and the relative frequency of the most common neoplasms compared with that in (1) the capital city, Tehran, (2) a neighboring country, Afghanistan, and (3) a distant western country, Sweden. The most common tumors in order of decreasing frequency were, among males, cancer of the skin, lymphoid system, lung, stomach, bladder, hematopoietic system and esophagus; and among females, cancers of the skin, cervix, breast, lymphoid system, esophagus, hematopoietic system and ovary. The proximal portion of the gastrointestinal tract seemed in general to be more commonly the site of malignant change than the distal part. While the frequency of esophageal cancer was relatively high, there was a paucity of cancer of the colon. For reasons as yet unexplained malignant lymphomas appeared to be among the most common malignant tumors of the bowel.