title: Diagnosed hematological malignancies in Bangladesh - a retrospective analysis of over 5000 cases from 10 specialized hospitals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The global burden from cancer is rising, especially as low-income countries like Bangladesh observe rapid aging. So far, there are no comprehensive descriptions reporting diagnosed cancer group that include hematological malignancies in Bangladesh.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a multi-center hospital-based retrospective descriptive study of over 5000 confirmed hematological cancer cases in between January 2008 to December 2012. Morphological typing was carried out using the "French American British" classification system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 5013 patients aged between 2 to 90 years had been diagnosed with malignant hematological disorders. A 69.2% were males (n=3468) and 30.8% females (n=1545), with a male to female ratio of 2.2:1. The overall median age at diagnosis was 42 years. Acute myeloid leukemia was most frequent (28.3%) with a median age of 35 years, followed by chronic myeloid leukemia with 18.2% (median age 40 years), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (16.9%; median age 48 years), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (14.1%; median age 27 years), multiple myeloma (10.5%; median age 55 years), myelodysplastic syndromes (4.5%; median age 57 years) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (3.9%; median age 36 years). The least common was chronic lymphocytic leukemia (3.7%; median age 60 years). Below the age of 20 years, acute lymphoblastic leukemia was predominant (37.3%), followed by acute myeloid leukemia (34%). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma had mostly occurred among older patients, aged 50-over.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For the first time, our study presents the pattern and distribution of diagnosed hematological cancers in Bangladesh. It shows differences in population distributions as compared to other settings with possibly a lower presence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There might be under-reporting of affected women. Further studies are necessary on the epidemiology, genetics and potential environmental risk factors within this rapidly aging country.
authors.affiliation: BRAC University, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh. sorowar.hossain@bracu.ac.bd.
authors.forename: Mohammad Sorowar
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hossain
authors.forename: Mohd S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.forename: Mohiuddin Ahmed
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Mohammad Golam
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rabbani
authors.forename: Hazera
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khatun
authors.forename: Sirajam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Munira
authors.forename: M Morshed Zaman
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Miah
authors.forename: Amin Lutful
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kabir
authors.forename: Naima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Tashmim Farhana
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Dipta
authors.forename: Farzana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mottalib
authors.forename: Salma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Afrose
authors.forename: Tasneem
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ara
authors.forename: Akhil Ranjan
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Mizanur
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Akm Mustafa
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Abedin
authors.forename: Mahbubur
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: A B M
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Yunus
authors.forename: Louis W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Niessen
authors.forename: Tanvira Afroze
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Sultana
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001459:Bangladesh; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies