Epidemiology of cancers and Prevalence of colorectal cancer between 2014 and 2016 in the East of Algeria

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological profile of cancer in Tebessa (East of Algeria) and to determine the incidence of colorectal cancer according to sex, age and BMI, in a period extending from 2014 to 2016. Materials & methods: Data of 604 cancer patients has been collected from Tebessa cancer registry: Age, sex, address, weight, height, and cancer location. We calculated the frequency of each type of cancer, the distribution according to sex, age, body mass index, and distribution according to the communes of the wilaya.  The data was analyzed using Minitab version 13. The statistical technique used for the analysis is Chi-square test and Student Test. Results: The most common cancers were: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, cancers of the respiratory and upper digestive tracts and stomach cancer. Colorectal cancer was ranked the second after breast cancer with a prevalence of (9.27%). For women, it comes in second place after breast cancer with a frequency of (6.9%) and in the third place after lung cancer and cancers of the respiratory and upper digestive tracts among men, with a prevalence of (13.4%). The mean age of cancer patients (all types of cancer combined) is 53.27 ± 14.10 years old. For colorectal cancer the mean age of patients was 55.62 ± 14.95 years. The prevalence of cancer increases with age. Colon cancer was more prevalent in women, while rectal cancer was more common in men. Overweight and obesity appears to be related to cancer. Conclusions: This study reinforced data from the literature on the nature and spread of colorectal cancer, and revealed the existence of different types of cancer in Tebessa.