title: Sex and subsite frequency of large bowel cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a comparison with New Zealand.
abstract: New Zealand (NZ) has a high risk population for the development of large bowel cancer (LBC). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a low risk population and is estimated to have incidence and mortality rates which are ten times lower than NZ. It has already been shown that in NZ, females have a higher incidence of right-sided colonic cancer and males a higher incidence of rectal cancer. To determine whether the same situation exists in a low risk population the NZ data were compared with similar data from the cancer registry at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC). Between 1975 and 1989, 433 Saudi and Yemeni patients with LBC were registered at KPSH. The subsite distribution of tumours in this group were compared with the subsite distribution in 4678 patients registered in NZ between 1972 and 1975. The male to female (M:F) ratio for right-sided tumours in KSA was 1:0.90 compared with 1:1.56 in NZ whereas the ratios for rectal tumours were 1:0.61 and 1:0.83 respectively. This study confirms the presence of a lower frequency of right-sided tumours in females in a low risk country and further confirms the importance of gender in LBC. It may be that early and multiple child bearing, physical activity and relatively poor diets have been protective for Saudi females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Isbister
mesh_terms: D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005788:Gene Pool; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors