Cancer third leading cause of death in Oman

Muscat: 2,307 cases of cancer were diagnosed in the Sultanate of Oman, according to a report released by the National Cancer Registry for the year 2019. The incidence of the disease among women stands at 55.43 percent.

The report issued by the National Cancer Registry at the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Directorate General of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of Health stated that the number of cancer cases among Omanis was 2,089 while, among non-Omanis, it was 200. 18 cases were that of incipient tumour.

The report further stated that cancer diseases are the third leading cause of death in hospitals after diseases of the circulatory system followed by respiratory diseases.

The report indicated that the number of cancer cases among Omani females was 1,158 (55.43 percent), while among the males it was 931 cases, or 44.57 per cent. 124 cases of cancer were recorded among children under 14 years of age.

Statistics showed that crude cancer rate among Omanis was 69.6 per hundred thousand for males and 87.9 per hundred thousand for females.

The report stated that breast cancer is still ranked first among women, with 350 cases of infection and 31 percent diagnosed in the third and fourth stages, and thyroid cancer ranked second.

The report said that the most common cancers among Omani males were that of colorectal, prostate gland, stomach, lung, trachea/ urinary bladder and leukaemia. The most common cancers among females were those of thyroid, colorectal, stomach and uterus.

It may be mentioned that the National Cancer Registry in the Sultanate of Oman began recording cancer cases, initially as a registry to be used in hospitals, in 1985 and as a population-based registry since 1996. The registry collects and records data for cancer patients from various data sources in Oman.

The importance of having a National Cancer Registry lies in the presence of a database that is used as a reference for research and educational purposes by researchers and decision makers.

The National Cancer Registry issues an annual report containing the most important data, in line with international standards, such as those of the World Health Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The National Cancer Registry cooperates with local, global and regional associations and organisations tasked with cancer registration.