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Review
. 2025 Jan-Dec:32:10732748251330696.
doi: 10.1177/10732748251330696. Epub 2025 Apr 1.

Bladder Cancer in Lebanon: An Updated Epidemiological Comparison with Global Regions and a Comprehensive Review of Risk Factors

Najla A Lakkis  1 , Mona H Osman  1 , Reem M Abdallah  2 , Nour M Mokalled  3
Affiliations
Review

Bladder Cancer in Lebanon: An Updated Epidemiological Comparison with Global Regions and a Comprehensive Review of Risk Factors

Najla A Lakkis et al. Cancer Control. 2025 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aims to analyze urinary bladder cancer (UBC) incidence rates in Lebanon over a 12-year period (2005-2016) and compare them with rates in other countries. It also discusses UBC risk factors in Lebanon.IntroductionLebanon has one of the highest estimated age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRw) of UBC worldwide.MethodsData on UBC were obtained from the Lebanese national cancer registry for the years 2005-2016. The study calculated age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRw) and age-specific rates per 100 000 population. It also estimated the population attributable fractions of smoking, water pollution, and air pollution for UBC incidence in Lebanon in 2016. However, limited data precluded sensitivity analyses, potentially affecting the robustness of the estimates.ResultsDuring this period, UBC ranked as the third most common cancer in males (12.9% of all new cancer cases) and the eighth most common in females (2.8% of all new cancer cases), excluding non-melanoma skin cancer. The average ASIRw was 28.8 in men and 6.6 in women, placing Lebanon among the countries with the highest UBC incidence rates globally. UBC incidence rates increased with age. Estimates indicated that 46.4% of UBC cases in the Lebanese population were attributed to current smoking, 8.6% to water pollution with disinfection byproducts, and 6.0% to air pollution with PM2.5.ConclusionThis study underscores the urgent need to mitigate UBC risk in Lebanon through tobacco control and by reducing exposure to preventable environmental and occupational risk factors, including tobacco smoking, water pollution, and air pollution.

Keywords: Lebanon; Middle East and North Africa; bladder cancer; epidemiology; risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Age-Standardized Incidence Rates (World Population) per 100,000 Population for Bladder Cancer (ICD10: C67) in Lebanon for the Years 2005-2016. (Model: 0 JoinPoint).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Age-Standardized Incidence Rates (World Population) per 100,000 Population for Bladder Cancer (ICD10: C67) in Lebanon for the Years 2005-2016. (Final Selected Models: 2 Joinpoints in Males, and 1 JoinPoint in Females).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Age-Specific Incidence Rates (per 100 000 Population) for Bladder Cancer (ICD10: C67), Lebanon 2005-2016.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
GLOBOCAN Estimates for Bladder Cancer (ICD10: C67) Age-Standardized Incidence Rate (World) per 100 000, Males and Females, [2012-2016].
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Globocan Estimates for Bladder Cancer Incidence Rates (ASRw) for the Year 2022 in the MENA Countries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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