Gynecologic Cancers Estimates in the I.R. Iran, 2012- 2040

Abstract

Background: Gynecologic cancers (GCs) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in females worldwide. Estimating the cancer burden is invaluable to set up priorities for research funding allocations, cancer control policies, and prevention strategies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has recently released the latest estimates on the prevalence, incidence, and mortality for 36 types of cancer and all cancer sites combined in 185 countries in 2020. We aimed to report GCs estimates in the I.R. Iran from 2012 to 2040 based on the GLOBOCAN 2020. Methods: We obtained data on the incidence, mortality, and prevalence of GCs in the Iranian female population from the GLOBOCAN 2020 database presented by the IARC, compared the burden with the previous reports presented in 2012 and 2018, and provided the estimates for 2040. In addition, we compared the burden to that of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) and the world. Results: The top 3 incident GCs were ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer, respectively. In 2020, approximately 2,000 new cases of ovarian cancer (ASR: 4.4), 1,535 new patients with uterine cancer (ASR: 3.5), and 1,056 incident cervical cancer cases (ASR: 2.3) were diagnosed in the I.R. Iran. With 1,269 cancer deaths and an age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) of 3.0, ovarian cancer is considered to be the leading cause of death from GCs, followed by cervical cancer (644 deaths; ASMR: 1.5) and uterine cancer (537 deaths; ASMR: 1.3). Among 157,930 prevalent female cases reported in the GLOBOCAN 2020 database, 13,663 cases were categorized as GC. With a 5-year prevalence of 5,539, ovarian cancer was the most prevalent type, while uterine cancer (with 4,904 prevalent cases) and cervical cancer (with 2,948 prevalent cases) were less prevalent types. Conclusion: There has been a slight increase in the incidence of GCs in recent years after stable rates for a couple of decades. Therefore, primary and secondary prevention measures such as lifestyle modifications and screening programs must be prioritized.