Analyzing Cancer Incidence Trends in Oman From 1996 to 2019: A Comprehensive Study of the National Cancer Annual Reports.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have reported that cancer incidence trends in Oman varied by tumor site and sex. No comprehensive analysis of all cancer sites had been reported. The objective of this study is to analyze cancer incidence trends in Oman and calculate the annual percent change (APC) in age-standardized rates (ASRs) for all-cancer and 61 individual cancer sites in Omani men and women from 1996 to 2019.

METHODS

We gathered incidence data from The Omani National Cancer Registry for all cancers combined and individual tumor sites. We estimated the APC using Poisson regression.

RESULTS

The cancer ASR in the Omani population increased by 23% (from 95/100,000 in 1996 to 117.2/100,000 in 2019), with the increase being more pronounced in females (48% v 7% in males). Among the male population, there was significant increase in the ASRs of colon, rectum, thyroid, and prostate cancers, with APCs of 6.92%, 4.24%, 4.19%, and 2.03%, respectively. Among females, all-cancer incidence showed significant increase (APC = 1.39%), and increasing trends were observed in uterine, colon, rectum, thyroid, and breast cancers (APCs = 7.57%, 7.08%, 5.19%, 5.16%, and 4.19%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The ASR of all-cancer increased significantly in Omani women but not in men. Uterine cancer had the highest APC. Colorectal cancer and thyroid ASR increased in both males and females. Breast and prostate cancers showed increasing trends. Further research is needed to explore factors contributing to increasing cancer incidences.