Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec;39(12):1259-1262.
doi: 10.15537/smj.2018.12.23348.

Trends in the incidence and mortality of cancer in Saudi Arabia

Mohammad A Althubiti  1 , Mohamed M Nour Eldein
Affiliations

Trends in the incidence and mortality of cancer in Saudi Arabia

Mohammad A Althubiti et al. Saudi Med J. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

To analyze the overall trends in cancer incidence and mortality in Saudi Arabia between 1990 and 2016. Methods: Data were retrieved through a Global Burden of Disease (GBD, 2016) database (Viz Hub) that is developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Results: The incidence of cancer increased around 26-fold for thyroid cancer; approximately 10-fold in breast, colon, bladder and uterine cancers; 8-fold for prostate cancer; 5-fold for renal cancer; 4-fold for pancreatic and ovarian cancer; 3.5-fold for lung cancer; 3-fold for liver cancer, and 2 folds for lymphoma, leukemia and gastric cancer. There was also an increase in the percentage of mortality due to cancer during this period. However, we noticed that the percentage of deaths due to cancer decreased after 70 years of age in Saudi Arabia population. Conclusion: The increases in the incidence of different types of cancer in the past decade could be due to the revolutionary change in socioeconomic status that has occurred in Saudi Arabia; therefore, a national plan should be established for cancer prevention, screening and therapy. Concerning mortality, the decrease in its percentage among elderly people could be due to biological factors that should be investigated in the future.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The incidence of different cancer types that increased to A) >1000 new cases by 2016 and B) <1000 cases by 2016.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The percentage of deaths due to cancer between 1990 and 2016.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The percentages of death due to cancer in different age groups: 0-14 years, 15-49 years, 50-69 years, 70-89 years and above 90 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Food Consumption:Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nation. 2011. [[cited 2018 Feb 06]]. Available from: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/.../jFoodConsumptionNutrients_en.xls .
    1. Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Sundaram C, Harikumar KB, Tharakan ST, Lai OS, et al. Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle. Pharmaceutical Research. 2008;25:2097–2116. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ibrahim E, Bin SB, Banjar L, Awadalla S, Abomelha MS. Current and future cancer burden in Saudi Arabia:meeting the challenge. Hematol Oncol Stem Cell Ther. 2008;1:210–215. - PubMed
    1. General Authority for Statistics. Demography Survey 2016. [[cited 2016]]. Available from: https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/en-demographic-research-201... .
    1. Institiute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. GBD compare Viz Hub. University of Washington (WA) 2018. [[updated 2018 Nov 08; cited 2018]]. Available from: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/