National Cancer Registry Report, Saudi Arabia, 1994

The 1994 report for the Saudi National Cancer Registry (NCR) has been published. It is the first report of the NCR to give an overview for the epidemiology of cancer in Saudi Arabia. The NCR is a population based registry that was established in 1412 (1992) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health. Basic data abstracted from the report are: The total number of cancer cases reported to NCR in 1994 was 7028. Saudi nationals accounted for 5044 cases (71.8%) and non-Saudis for 1977 cases (28.1%). Among Saudi males, cancer cases numbered 2797 and for females the number of cases was 2247 (M:F ratio =1.25:1). The incidence rate in 1994 for the Saudi population was 38.1 per 100,000 population. For all sites the age specific rate increased with age for both males and females. The most common cancer for all Saudi males was liver cancer (10.1%). The most common cancer for all Saudi females was breast cancer (18.8%). For children less than 15 years of age the most common for both sexes was leukemia. For more information contact the National Cancer Registry, PO Box 3354, MBC-64, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia.