Cancer Incidence in Oman (1996–2015)

Abstract

Cancer remains a major public health problem worldwide. In 2018, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimated that over 18 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed and nearly 10 million people lost their lives to this group of diseases. Yet, cancer is not invincible and can be abated through effective cancer control programs that implement evidence-based strategies for prevention, early detection, treatment, palliation, and making the best use of available resources. Such programs aim to reduce cancer incidence, its associated morbidity and mortality, and improve quality of life. However, this requires careful planning, continuous monitoring and evaluation of processes, and output and outcome indicators to assess whether program objectives are achieved. One of the most common methods to obtain such indicators is through cancer surveillance systems in the form of population-based cancer registries that systematically collect, analyze, and report cancer data of a well-defined geographical area. In this issue, Al-Lawati and colleagues provide evidence of the cancer burden in Omanis over the past two decades (1996–2015). This publication comes 24 years after the Oman National Cancer Registry (ONCR) was transformed from a hospital-based registry to a population-based registry covering the entire country and including all cancers diagnosed by multiple modalities and all medical disciplines. Currently, this registry covers nearly five million Omanis and expatriates and provides an important database for policy makers in setting priorities for the prevention and control of cancer in Oman as well as being a tool for monitoring its incidence trends over time.

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