Trends in cancer incidence in female breast, cervix uteri, corpus uteri, and ovary in India.

Trends in breast, cervix uteri, corpus uteri and ovarian cancers in six population based cancer registries (Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Bhopal, and Barshi) were evaluated over a period of the last two decades. For studying trends we used a model that fits this data is the logarithm of Y=ABx which represents a Linear Regression model. This approach showed a decreasing trend for cancer of the cervix and increasing trends for cancers of breast, ovary and corpus uteri throughout the entire period of observation in most of the registries. The four cancers, breast, cervix, corpus uteri and ovary, constitute more than 50% of total cancers in women. As all these cancers are increasing, to understand their etiology in depth, analytic epidemiology studies should be planned in a near future on a priority basis.     

An Alternative Approach to Study the Changes in the Cancer Pattern of Women in India (1988-2005)

Background: The changes in the cancer pattern are often studied with the help of changes in the rank ofleading sites, changes in the Age Adjusted Rates of the sites over the time or with the help of time trends. However,these methods do not quantify the changes in relation to overall changes that occurred in the total cancer casesover the period of time. An alternative approach was therefore used to assess the changes in cancer pattern inrelation to overall changes in time and also an attempt was made to identify the most emerging new cancers inIndia. Methods: The cancer incidence data of various sites for women, over the periods 1988-90 and 2003-05 inIndia, for five urban registries namely Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, functioning under thenetwork of National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR), formed the sources of data for the present analysis.The changes in incidence cases by various cancer sites for women were assessed by calculating the differences inincidence cases over the two period of time. Based on the contribution of each site to total change, the ten mostleading sites were identified separately for each registry. The relative changes in the sites with time were takento identify the most emerging new cancer cases over the period of time. Results: The pooled cancer cases forwomen among five urban registries increased from 29447 cases in 1988-90 to 48472 cases in 2003-05 registeringan increased of about 63.3%. The lowest percentage of increase was observed in the registry of Chennai (41.5%)and the maximum in Bhopal (102.0%). Based on the pooled figures, the breast cancer contributed to the maximum% change (38%), followed by ovarian (8.0%), gallbladder (5.1%), corpus uteri (4.9%) and cervix uteri (4.1%).Based on the pooled data and relative changes, the emerging new cancers were corpus uteri (187%), gallbladder(162.1%) and lung cancer (136.1%). The % change by sites and the emerging new cancers varied between theregistries.     

Trends in incidence of head and neck cancers in India

Information relating to cancer incidence trends forms the scientific basis for the planning and organization of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in a community. An attempt was here made to study the trends in the age adjusted incidence rates for the sites of head and neck cancers in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Bhopal, and Barshi registry's populations. For carrying out trend analysis the gum, the floor of mouth, the mucosa of cheek, the hard and soft palate and the uvula were grouped together and assigned as cancers of mouth. The trend analysis was carried out for all sites together, tongue, mouth, hypopharynx and larynx in males and all sites together and mouth in females. Sites such as lip, hypopharynx and nasopharynx were not considered. In males, for all sites together linear regression showed no increase or decrease in age adjusted rates overall for Bangalore and Delhi registries, a significant decrease for Mumbai and Delhi registries, but a rising trend for Chennai and Bhopal registries over a period of time. In females, for all sites together no change was observed in age adjusted incidence rates for Mumbai, Chennai, Bhopal, Bangalore and Barshi registries while a decreasing trend was noted for Delhi registries over a period of time. For the specific sites, variation among registries was also apparent. The results point to local differences in sub-site specific risk factors which might be elucidated by analytical epidemiological assessment.     

Time Trend in Breast and Cervix Cancer of Women in India, (1990-2003)

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) started a National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP)in the year 1982 with the main objective of generating reliable data on the magnitude and pattern of cancer inIndia. There are about 20 Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCR) which are currently functioning underthe network of NCRP. The present paper aims to provide the time trends in the incidence of breast and cervixcancer among females of India. The incidence data collected by Bangalore, Barshi, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi andMumbai over the period 1990 to 2003 formed the sources of data. In the year 1990, cervix was the leading site ofcancer followed by breast cancer in the registries of Bangalore (23.0% vs. 15.9%), Bhopal (23.2% vs. 21.4%),Chennai (28.9% vs. 17.7%) and Delhi (21.6% vs. 20.3%), while in Mumbai breast was the leading site of cancer(24.1% vs. 16.0%). By the years 2000-3, the scenario had changed and breast had overtaken as the leading siteof cancer in all the registries except in Barshi (16.9% vs. 36.8%). The time trend analysis for these sites suggesteda significant decreasing trend in the case of cervix in Bangalore and Delhi registries, while the registries ofBhopal, Chennai and Mumbai did not show any significant changes. However, in the case of breast cancer, asignificant increasing trend was observed in Bhopal, Chennai and Delhi registries with Bangalore and Mumbairegistries demonstrating no such significant changes. Histopathologic confirmation for both malignancies wasfound to be more than 80% in these registries. It is concluded that in India the cervix cancer rates are decreasingwhile breast cancer is on the increase.     

Cancer survival in Seoul, Republic of Korea, 1993-1997

The Seoul cancer registry was established in 1991. Cancer is a notifiable disease, and registration of cases is done by passive and active methods. The registry contributed survival data for 56 cancer sites or types registered during 1993-1997. Follow-up information has been gleaned predominantly by passive methods with median follow-up ranging between 5-82 months for various cancers. The proportion with histologically verified diagnosis for different cancers ranged between 23-99%; death certificates only (DCOs) comprised 0-67%; 33-100% of total registered cases were included for survival analysis. The top-ranking cancers on 5-year age-standardized relative survival rates were testis and placenta (95%), thyroid (93%), non-melanoma skin (93%), corpus uteri (79%), renal pelvis (77%), cervix (76%), Hodgkin lymphoma (75%), breast (74%) and prostate (74%). Five-year relative survival by age group showed a decreasing trend with increasing age groups for cancers of the small intestine, colon, gall bladder, cervix, corpus uteri, ovary, kidney, urinary bladder and thyroid, or was fluctuating for other cancers.     

Disability Adjusted Life Years for Cancer Patients in India

The disability adjusted life year (DALY) has been employed to quantify the burden of diseases. This measureallows for combining in a single indicator “years of life lived with disabilities (YLD)” and “years of life lost frompremature death (YLL)”. The present communication attempts to estimate the burden of cancers in-terms ofYLL, YLD and DALY for “all sites” and leading sites of cancer in India for the years 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016.The YLL, YLD and DALY were estimated by employing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) methodology usingthe DISMOD procedure. The published data on age, gender and site specific cancer incidence and mortality forthe years 2001-2003 relating to six population-based cancer registries viz. Bangalore, Barshi, Bhopal, Chennai,Delhi and Mumbai, expectation of life by gender for urban areas of the country for 1999-2003 and the projectedpopulation during years 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 were utilized for the computations. DALYs were found tobe lower for males (2,038,553, 2,313,843, 2,656,693 and 3,021,708 for 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 respectively)as compared to females (2,560,423, 2,961,218, 3,403,176 and 3,882,649). Amongst males, highest DALYs werecontributed by cancer of the lung and esophagus while in females they were for cancers of breast and cervix uteri.It is estimated that total DALYs due to cancer in India combined for both genders would increase from 4,598,976in 2001 to 6,904,358 by 2016. Premature mortality is a major contributor to disease burden. According to thepresent estimates, the YLL component of DALY is about 70.0%. The above described computations reveal anurgent need for initiating primary and secondary prevention measures for control of cancers.     

上海市区女性生殖系统恶性肿瘤发病趋势分析

目的对1972～1999年上海市区常见的女性生殖系统恶性肿瘤的发病率进行统计,分析其发病趋势及变化原因,为防治措施的制定提供依据.方法根据上海市肿瘤发病登记处收集的1972～1999年的上海市区卵巢癌、宫颈癌、宫体癌和不明部位子宫癌的病例资料和相应年份的人口资料,分别计算各年龄组的年龄别发病率.并采用直接法计算世界人口标化发病率,对数线性回归法计算标化率的年变化率(Annual percentage change,APC),并对病例数进行加权计算.结果1972～1999年上海市肿瘤登记处共登记卵巢癌6106例、宫颈癌8063例,宫体癌3 933例和不明部位子宫癌1 312例.28年来,宫体癌和卵巢癌的标化发病率呈上升趋势,分别从1972～1974年的2.49/10万和4.77/10万上升至1996～1999年的4.75/10万和6.88/10万,年增长率分别为3.0%和2.0%.同期宫颈癌的标化发病率从26.66/10万快速下降至2.18/10万,年下降率达10.5%.不明部位子宫癌的标化发病率亦呈下降趋势(P＜0.01).宫体癌以55～64和65～74岁组发病率上升最快,年增长率分别为2.5%和3.3%.卵巢癌各年龄组的发病率均有上升趋势,年变化率都在1.0%以上.宫颈癌发病率下降最快的年龄组是45～54和55～64岁组,25～34和35～44岁组的发病率在近几年有升高趋势.结论上述肿瘤的发病率及年龄别发病率的变化趋势提示,上海女性生活方式和环境因素的改变可能是导致这种变化的重要原因.     

Ethnicity and cancer risk in S?o Paulo, Brazil.

Data from the S?o Paulo Cancer Registry (Brazil) for the period 1969-1974 are used to investigate ethnic differentials in cancer risk. Risks for specific cancers were estimated for mulattos and blacks relative to whites, using a case-control approach with other cancers as controls. For both sexes, blacks and mulattos are at higher risk than whites for cancer of the esophagus, stomach, and liver and for myeloma; for prostate cancer in males; and for gall bladder, pancreas, and cervix uteri cancers in females. Blacks and mulattos are at lower risk than whites for cancer of the colon, lung, larynx (males only), bladder, bone, testis, breast, and corpus uteri and for melanoma and leukemia. Except for lung and colon cancers, for which life-style habits are the main risk factors, these ethnic differences are similar to those observed in the United States.     

Cancer Incidences in Urban Delhi - 2001-05

The Delhi Population based cancer registry collects data on new cancer cases diagnosed among Delhi urbanresident population. The sources for cancer registration are more than 162 government hospitals/centers and250 private hospitals and nursing homes. During the period 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2005 a total of54,554 cases were registered of which 28,262 were males and 26,292 were females. The age adjusted (worldpopulation) incidence rates were 116.9 per 100,000 for males and 116.7 per 100,000 for females. The leading sitesof cancer among Delhi males was lung (ASR: 13.8 per 100,000) followed by oral cavity (ASR:11.4), prostate(ASR:9.0) and larynx (ASR:7.9). In females, breast (ASR: 30.2 per 100,000) was the most common site ofcancer, followed by cervix uteri (ASR:17.5), ovary (ASR:8.5) and gallbladder (ASR:7.4). The incidence of prostatecancer in males and ovary cancer in females in Delhi were the highest among the Indian registries, while larynxamong males was the second highest and the gallbladder cancer in females was the highest among Indianmetropolitan cities.     

Cancer survival in Incheon, Republic of Korea, 1997-2001

The Incheon cancer registry was established in 1997. Cancer is not a notifiable disease, hence registration of cases is done by active methods. The registry contributed survival data for 42 cancer sites or types registered during 1997-2001. The follow-up information has been obtained predominantly by passive methods, with median follow-up ranging between 1-44 months for various cancers. The proportion with histologically verified diagnosis for different cancers ranged between 16-100%; death certificates only (DCOs) comprised 0-51%; 49-100% of total registered cases were included for the survival analysis. The top-ranking cancers on 5-year age-standardized relative survival rates were testis (98%), thyroid (90%), ureter (87%), adrenal gland (86%), nonmelanoma skin (83%), corpus uteri (82%), Hodgkin lymphoma (81%), breast and cervix (74%). Five-year relative survival by age group showed a decreasing trend with increasing age groups for cancers of the stomach, small intestine, colon, gall bladder, larynx, lung, breast, cervix and ovary, and was fluctuating for other cancers.     

Cancer survival in Busan, Republic of Korea, 1996-2001

The Busan cancer registry was established in 1996; cancer registration is done by passive and active methods. The registry contributed survival data for 48 cancer sites or types registered during 1996-2001. Follow-up information has been gleaned predominantly by passive methods with median follow-up ranging between 1-57 months for various cancers. The proportion with histologically verified diagnosis for different cancers ranged between 20-100%; death certificates only (DCOs) comprised 0-53%; 47-100% of total registered cases were included for survival analysis. The top-ranking cancers on 5-year age-standardized relative survival rates were penis (94%), thyroid (91%), non-melanoma skin (89%), placenta (86%), breast (76%), Hodgkin lymphoma (75%) and testis (72%). Five-year relative survival by age group showed a decreasing trend with increasing age groups for cancers of the nasopharynx, gall bladder, lung, bone, soft tissue, breast, cervix, corpus uteri, thyroid, multiple myeloma, lymphoid leukaemia and myeloid leukaemia or was fluctuating for other cancers.     

Cancer Incidences in Rural Delhi - 2004-05

There are no data available on cancer incidence pattern in rural Delhi. This is the first report on cancerincidence among Delhi Rural population during 2004-05 which gives the first hand information on cancerincidence. The data for this report has been collected by Delhi Population based cancer registry. The sources forcancer registration are more than 162 Government Hospitals/centers and 250 private hospitals and nursinghomes. A total of 594 cancer cases with 317 males and 277 females were registered during the period 1st January2004 to 31st December 2005. The age adjusted (world population) incidence rates for all sites were 55.2 per100,000 for males and 47.7 per 100,000 for females. The leading sites of cancer among Delhi Rural males wasoral cavity (ASR: 8.0 per 100000) followed by lung (ASR: 6.5), larynx (ASR: 4.0) and bladder (ASR: 4.1). Infemales cervix uteri (ASR: 10.3 per 100,000) was the most common site of cancer followed by breast (ASR: 7.8),gallbladder (ASR: 3.5) and ovary (ASR: 3.3). The overall incidence rates of cancer in Delhi Rural werecomparatively very less than Delhi Urban. A statistically significant difference was also found between DelhiRural and Delhi Urban in incidence rates (ASR) for first four common sites. The rates in Delhi Rural are alsocomparatively lower than other rural registries situated in India.     

An Epidemiological Study on Marital Status and Cancer Incidence

The relationship between marital status and cancer incidence was examined based on 49,191 incident cases aged 30 or over in 1980–1984 by using the data from Aichi Cancer Registry and census data. Although married and widowed people did not show increased incidence for any cancer site studied, single and divorced people showed statistically significantly increased or decreased risks for several sites of cancer. Single males showed an increased risk for esophageal cancer and a decreased risk for lung cancer. Divorced males showed increased risks for cancers of the mouth & pharynx, esophagus, liver, skin and brain. Single females showed increased risks for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, lung, breast, corpus uteri, ovary & fallopian tube and other female genital organs and a decreased risk for cervical cancer. Divorced females showed increased risks for cancers of the larynx, breast, all parts of uterus and cervix uteri and a decreased risk for biliary tract cancer. The increased risk for breast cancer in single females was more pronounced in older age groups and the increased risks for several sites of cancer in divorced people were more pronounced in younger age groups. These findings may be partly explained by differences in reproductive factors and life style, especially smoking and drinking habits.     

An epidemiological study on marital status and cancer incidence

The relationship between marital status and cancer incidence was examined based on 49,191 incident cases aged 30 or over in 1980-1984 by using the data from Aichi Cancer Registry and census data. Although married and widowed people did not show increased incidence for any cancer site studied, single and divorced people showed statistically significantly increased or decreased risks for several sites of cancer. Single males showed an increased risk for esophageal cancer and a decreased risk for lung cancer. Divorced males showed increased risks for cancers of the mouth & pharynx, esophagus, liver, skin and brain. Single females showed increased risks for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, lung, breast, corpus uteri, ovary & fallopian tube and other female genital organs and a decreased risk for cervical cancer. Divorced females showed increased risks for cancers of the larynx, breast, all parts of uterus and cervix uteri and a decreased risk for biliary tract cancer. The increased risk for breast cancer in single females was more pronounced in older age groups and the increased risks for several sites of cancer in divorced people were more pronounced in younger age groups. These findings may be partly explained by differences in reproductive factors and life style, especially smoking and drinking habits.     

An Alternative Approach to Study the Changes in the Cancer Pattern of Men in India (1988-2005)

Background: Changes in cancer pattern are often studied with regard to rank of leading sites, variation inage adjusted rates of sites over the time or with the help of time trends. However, these methods do not quantifythe changes in relation to overall changes that occurred in the total cancer cases over the period of time. Analternative approach is therefore necessary, particularly to identify emerging new cancers. Methods: The cancerincidence data of various sites for men, over the periods 1988-90 and 2003-05 in India, for five urban registriesnamely Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, functioning under the network of National CancerRegistry Programme (ICMR), formed the sources of data for the present analysis. Changes in incidence cases byvarious cancer sites for men are assessed by calculating the differences in incidence cases over the two period oftime. Based on the contribution of each site to total change, the ten most leading sites are identified separately foreach registry. The relative changes in the sites with time are taken to identify the most emerging new cancer casesover the period of time. Results: The pooled cancer cases for men among five urban registries increased from30042 cases in 1988-90 to 46946 cases in 2003-05 registering an increase of about 55.8%. The lowest percentageof increase is observed in the registry of Mumbai (25.6%) and the maximum in Bhopal (96.4%). Based on thepooled figures of five urban registries, the lung cancer contributed the maximum % change (9.7%), followedby cancer of prostate (9.2%), mouth (7.5%), tongue (5.9%) and NHL (5.9%). Based on the pooled figures andthe relative changes, the emerging new cancers are prostate (140%), liver (112%) and mouth (95%). The %change by sites and the emerging new cancers varied between the registries.     

Incidence and Epidemiological Features of Cancers of the Genitourinary Tract in Izmir between 1993-2002

Background: There is a relative lack of epidemiological data on cancer in Turkey, which is a large countrywith a population of 71 million. The first population-based registry in the country is Izmir Cancer Registry(ICR) which was not established until 1992. The present study, aiming to address the gap in this kind ofepidemiological data for this part of the world, reports the incidence of cancers of the genitourinary tract inIzmir province over a ten year period. Methods: Cancer incidence data for 1993-2002 was obtained from theICR database, which employs a population based registry system, and actively collects data by followinginternational registration rules. Annual crude and age standardized incidence rates were calculated for thewhole period and also for ear lier and later periods. Results: The age-standardized incidence rate (worldpopulation) for all sites was 198.3 per 100,000 for males and 116.4 per 100,000 for females. The most commonprimary sites for men were lung (35.6%), bladder (7.8%), colon and rectum (6.1%), larynx (5.7%) and prostate(5.4%). For women, the principal cancers were breast (28.7%), colon and rectum (7.2%), corpus uteri (5.3%),cervix uteri (4.8%) and lung (4.7%). Urogenital cancers accounted for 11.2% of all new cancer cases for the1993-2002 period in Izmir. Of the total, 89.6% were observed in males and 10.4% were diagnosed in females.Carcinoma of the bladder was the most common among the urogenital cancers in Izmir province (Agestandardized incidence rate, world standard population17.1 per 100 000). Conclusions: Bladder cancer incidenceswere quite high, especially for men, and appear to be increasing. Prostate cancer has lower incidence rates ascompared to western countries, but the trend is for rise. Although there might be an underestimate of incidences,owing to an inability to use data from death certificates, the overall profile is an accurate reflection of incidencein this region of Turkey and provides adequate information for planning strategies for cancer control.     

Geographic Variation in Cancer Incidence and its Patterns in Urban Maharashtra , 2001

In this paper an attempt has been made to study the geographic variations in cancer incidence and its pattern inUrban Maharashtra. Data collected by Mumbai, Poona, Nagpur, and Aurangabad, Population based CancerRegistries, for the year 2001 have been utilized. The incidence patterns by sex, age, and religion has been comparedbetween these four agglomerations. Besides this childhood cancers and tobacco related cancers for each registry arealso described. Age specific cancer incidence rates show increasing trend with increasing age in all the four populations.The curves for Mumbai, Poona, Nagpur are closed together with fluctuations, indicating similarities in the rise. Inall the four registries, amongst males, cancers of the lung, larynx, oesophagus, tongue and prostate while in femalesbreast, cervix, ovary, oesophagus, mouth and leukemias occupy places in ten leading sites. The praportion of childhoodcancers varies from 1.9% in females in Poona to 4.5% in males in the Nagpur populations. The proportion oftobacco related cancers varies in males from 38.9% in Poona to 54.4% in Aurangabad, where as in females from14.1% in Nagpur to 21.7% in Aurangabad. Considerable variations was observed in the incidence of cancer ofvarious sites in both the sexes, professing different religious faiths within this populations. The findings of this papercan be used to estimate the incidence and prevalence of cancer for future for whole Maharashtra state and studies incancer etiology and control can be planned.     

2008~2012年辽宁省鞍山市城区恶性肿瘤的发病分析

[目的]了解鞍山城区2008～2012年恶性肿瘤的发病情况,为制定恶性肿瘤的综合防治措施提供科学依据.[方法]收集鞍山市肿瘤登记处2008～2012年恶性肿瘤的发病资料,计算恶性肿瘤的发病率、标化发病率、年龄别发病率和构成比等指标.标化率采用2000年全国人口普查标准人口和Segi's世界标准人口为标准.[结果]2008～2012年鞍山城区恶性肿瘤粗发病率为333.1/10万,中标率为200.7/10万,世标率为195.0/10万,截缩率(35～64岁)为326.7/10万,累积率(0～74岁)为21.8％.男性发病率高于女性(男性世标率为212.7/10万,女性世标率为180.4/10万).男性恶性肿瘤发病前10位为肺、结直肠、肝、胃、食管、膀胱、胰腺、肾、脑和神经系统、前列腺,占全部恶性肿瘤的81.9％.女性恶性肿瘤发病前10位为乳腺、肺、结直肠、宫颈、肝、胃、卵巢、子宫体、胰腺、脑和神经系统,占全部恶性肿瘤的81.8％.[结论]肺癌、结直肠癌、乳腺癌、肝癌、胃癌、宫颈癌等是威胁鞍山市城区居民健康的主要恶性肿瘤,要积极控制危险因素,加强防控.     

Socioeconomic status and cancers of the female breast and reproductive organs: a comparison across racial/ethnic populations in Los Angeles County, California (United States)

Objectives: Despite the fact that socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to have important implications in health related issues, population-based cancer registries in the United States do not routinely collect SES information. This study presents a model to estimate the SES of cancer patients in the registry database.Methods: At the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program (CSP), we developed a model to estimate each cancer patient's SES from aggregate measurements of the census tract of residence (n = 1,640) at time of diagnosis. We then applied the SES estimates to observe the relationship between SES and risk of cancers of the female breast and reproductive organs including cancers of the ovary, cervix uteri, and corpus uteri. The analyses were performed on the cumulative records (n = 127,819) of cancer patients diagnosed between 1972 and 1992 in Los Angeles County, California, for the mutually exclusive racial/ethnic groups of non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic Whites, Blacks, Asians, and persons of other ethnic groups.Results: We found SES is positively associated with female breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and cancer of the corpus uteri, but inversely associated with cervical cancer. These SES trends were quite consistent across age groups among non-Hispanic White women. Variations by race/ethnicity in the SES patterns were also found, with Asians exhibiting little association.Conclusions: Our model of measuring SES is sufficiently sensitive to capture the trends. Adopting the aggregate approach to measure SES in population-based registry data appears to be useful.     

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.