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Descriptive Epidemiology of Cancer in Afghanistan
Maihan Abdullah,1 Fateme Ghasemi,2 Jesse Bump,1 Goodarz Danaei,1 Nisar Niazi,3 Ikram Hashimi,3 Gholamreza Roshandal 2
¹ Takemi Program in International Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
² Golestan Cancer Registry
³ National Cancer Control Program Afghanistan
Introduction
Globally, nearly 20 million new cancer cases occurred and approximately 10 million people died in 2022.1 In Afghanistan, where cancer data is lacking, cancer incidence is estimated using the data from neighboring countries by the IARC.2
Objective
We aimed to report the incidence of cancer in Afghanistan for the first time by analyzing the population-based cancer registry data.
Method and Materials
- Cancer data was collected from over 50 health facilities in Kabul by cancer registry staff from 2018-2020.
- Data was stored, assessed, and analyzed using CanReg-5 software.
- Crude, age-specific, and age-standardized incidence rates (per 100,000) by sex were calculated at national level.
Results
- Between 2018 and 2020, 10,066 new cancer cases were reported, with 52.0 % occurring in men (a male-to-female ratio of 1.1).
- In men, 60% of the cancers occurred in patients aged ≥50 years, while in women, more than 75% of cancers occurred in patients aged ≥50 years.
- In both men and women combined, esophageal cancer was the most frequently reported cancer (1,820 cases), followed by breast (1,303 cases) and stomach (1,252 cases) cancers.
- In men, esophageal cancer was the leading cancer (1,069 cases; ASR: 4.7), followed by stomach cancer (924 cases; ASR: 4.0).
- In women, breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed malignancy (1,276 cases; ASR: 4.8), followed by esophageal cancer (757 cases; ASR: 3.8).
- In children (0-14 years), leukemia (32.6%) was the most common type
of cancer, followed by lymphoma (17.4.0%), and renal tumors (7.4%).
Table 1: Childhood (0-14 years) cancer types, numbers, their rates
| ICCC3 | Number of Cases | M/F Ratio | % Total | Crude Rate | ASR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 903 | 1.7 | 100.0 | 20.7 | 20.8 |
| Leukaemias | 294 | 2.0 | 32.6 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Lymphomas | 157 | 2.4 | 17.4 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| Renal tumors | 67 | 2.5 | 7.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| CNS neoplasms | 61 | 1.4 | 6.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Soft tissue sarcomas | 56 | 1.4 | 6.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Malignant bone tumors | 46 | 1.6 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Germ cell tumors | 30 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Retinoblastoma | 6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Hepatic tumors | 5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Neuroblastoma | 2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Other and Unknown | 179 | 1.2 | 19.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
Conclusions
Since these are the first cancer estimates for Afghanistan based on population-based cancer registry data, IARC should consider these data for estimating cancer incidence in Afghanistan in the future.
References
- Ferlay et al. (2024). Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. Lyon.
- Bray et al. (2014). Planning and Developing Population-Based Cancer Registration in Low- or Middle-Income Settings. Lyon (FR).
Acknowledgment
This research and the poster presentation were supported by the Takemi Program in International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Boston, MA.
Contact Information
Maihan Abdullah, MD, MPH
Takemi Program in International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Boston, MA
mabdullah@hsph.harvard.edu, maihanabdullah22@gmail.com