Health Ministry publishes 2016 cancer report

AMMAN — A total of 8,152 cancer patients were registered in the Kingdom in 2016, 73.6 per cent of whom were Jordanians, said the Health Ministry's 21st annual report on cancer for 2016, released recently. 

Jordanian cases amounted to 5,999, representing different ages and types of cancer, Director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable diseases department Nashaat Taani said, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Friday.

Taani attributed the delay in the issuance of reports to the time it takes to confirm cases and for the national registration to be completed. This, the director added, is based on international practice and usually takes 6 to 18 months.

Director of the National Registry of Cancer at the Ministry of Health Omar Nimri said that male cancer patients among Jordanian cases amounted to 2,815 (46.9 per cent), while female Jordanian patients amounted to 3,184 (53.1 per cent). 

Breast cancer topped the list of the five most common cancers among Jordanians, affecting 1,279 (21.3 per cent), followed by colorectal cancer at 641 (10.7 per cent), then lung cancer at 448 (7.5 per cent), 419 cases of lymphoma and bladder cancer at 269 (4.5 per cent), Petra reported. 

Among males, the cases were recorded as follows: 362 cases of lung cancer, 335 cases of colorectal cancer, 234 cases of prostate cancer, 226 cases of bladder cancer and 153 cases of lymphoma. 

The five most common cancers among females were as follows: 1,263 cases of breast cancer, 308 cases of colorectal cancer, 202 cases of thyroid cancer, 134 cases of uterine cancer and 111 cases of lymphoma, according to Petra. 

Taani said the report helps decision makers and researchers in particular obtain data on Jordan’s most prevalent cancers based on age groups, gender and location, Petra added.