Epidemiology and Histopathology of Breast Cancer in Iran versus Other Middle Eastern Countries

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among females worldwide. This study compares the results of the most cited published Iranian studies and studies from other Middle East countries on breast cancer with data from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and approximately ۲۰۰۰ cases from the Cancer Research Center of Shahid Beheshti Medical University of Iran.Methods: Data from the Cancer Registry System of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the Cancer Research Center were obtained in addition to data from other published Iranian articles to increase the accuracy of incidence, prevalence, disease burden, risk factors, clinical staging, clinical pathology, biological markers, clinical subtypes, and survival rate of breast cancer in the last decade and compare the epidemiological data with other areas of the world.Results: Overall, breast cancer was the most common cancer in Iran. The agestandardized rate for breast cancer was ۳۳.۲۱ per ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ according to the latest national databases. The mortality rate for breast cancer has not changed in the past ۳۰ years in Iran. The age-standardized rate for mortality was ۱۴.۲ per ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ with a mean age of ۴۹.۸۴ years. The most common cancer in Iran is invasive ductal carcinoma. In our last review, ۶۵.۵%-۷۰.۵% of cases were in the early stages (۱ and ۲) and less than ۳۰% were in the advanced stages. The five-year overall survival rate was estimated at ۷۲% in women and ۶۰% in men. The stage and number of positive lymph nodes significantly affected the survival rate. In the Gulf Cooperation Council, ASR of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was (۱۲.۹), Bahrain (۴۶.۴), Kuwait (۴۴.۳), Qatar (۳۵.۵), United Arab Emirates (۱۹.۲), and Oman (۱۴.۴) per ۱۰۰,۰۰۰.Conclusion: Our study shows that epidemiology and histopathology of cancer is different with other neighborhood countries and is multi-dimension and needs multicenter involvement from government authorities, clinicians and scientists.