Trends in the incidence of cancer in the Sousse region, Tunisia, 1993-2006

In this article, we analyzed trends in incidence rates of the major cancer sites for a 14-year period, 1993-2006, in the Sousse region localized in the centre of Tunisia. Five-year age-specific rates, crude incidence rates (CR), world age-standardized rates (ASR), percent change (PC) and annual percent change (APC) were calculated using annual data on population size and its estimated age structure. A total of 6,975 incident cases of cancer were registered, with a male to-female sex ratio of 1.4:1. ASRs showed stable trends (-0.1% in males, and +1.0% in females). The leading cancer sites in rank were lung, breast, lymphoma, colon-rectum, bladder, prostate, leukemia, stomach and cervix uteri. For males, the incidence rates of lung, bladder and prostate cancers remained stable over time. While, cancers of colon-rectum showed a marked increase in incidence (APC: +4.8%; 95% CI: 1.2%, 8.4%) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) showed a notable decline (APC: -4.4%; 95% CI: -8.2, -0.6). For females, cancers of the breast (APC: +2.2%; 95% CI: 0.4%, 4.0%) and corpus uteri (APC: +7.4%; 95% CI: 2.8%, 12.0%) showed a marked increase in incidence during the study period, while the cervix uteri cancer decreased significantly (APC: -6.1%; 95% CI: -9.2%, -3.0%). The results underline the increasing importance of cancer as a cause of mortality and morbidity in Tunisia. Our findings justify the need to develop effective program aiming at the control and prevention of the spread of cancer amongst Tunisian population.