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.