title: Incidence of cancer in Basrah: results of a household survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer is a major health problem at global level. It is increasingly registered in Iraq and Basrah but the epidemiological situation, though becoming better documented, is still questionable regarding the adequacy of data.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study aimed to measure the incidence of cancer in Basrah.
  
  
  METHODS
  The results presented in this paper are part of a large household survey carried out in Basrah governorate-southern Iraq over a 12 month period (January to December 2013). It involved a detailed interview with adult respondents from each and every household enrolled in the study during a three-year recall period about the incidence of cancer. A total of 6,999 households were covered yielding 40,684 persons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of new cancer cases reported over the three- year recall period (2010-2012) was 112. The average annual incidence rate of all cancers was 91.8 per 100,000 population with a higher rate for females (109.7) compared to males (74.3) The overall age standardized rate was 150.7 per 100,000. The highest incidence rate was recorded for the Southern part of the governorate (Abul-Khasib and Fao ) at 138.8 per 100,000 and the lowest was for East of Basrah (Shatt-Arab District) at 78.0 per 100,000. With respect to cancer types, the main cancers were those of breast, lung, larynx-pharynx, leukaemia, colon-rectum and urinary bladder. These six cancers accounted for 51.5% of all reported cases. Other important cancers were those of brain, bones, pancreas and liver, accounting for a further 17.9%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pattern of cancer in Basrah is generally similar to the pattern at the national level in terms of age, sex and topography but the incidence rate according to the present household survey is higher than any previously reported figures. Household surveys for cancer seem feasible albeit difficult and costly.
authors: Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq E-mail : omran49_basmed@yahoo.com.
authors: Riyadh Abdul-Ameer
authors: RA
authors: Hussain
authors: Omran S
authors: OS
authors: Habib
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult