Cancer Epidemiology in Lahore, Pakistan - 2010-2015

To study the cancer incidence rates in Lahore, which has an estimated annual population count of 10.3 million.

Cross-sectional study.

Data on new cancer cases diagnosed between 2010 and 2015, among the residents of Lahore district, Pakistan, was reviewed retrospectively in 2015-2017.

Nineteen collaborating centres of the population-based Punjab Cancer Registry (PCR), representing both the government and private sectors, reported their cases to the coordinating office located within the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC). The age-standardised incidence rates (ASIR) per 100,000 population, over a six-year period, were computed. Sixteen 5-year age groups were created beginning from 0-4 to 70-74 years, followed by 75+ years. Graphs on the five-year age-specific incidence rates by gender, were also generated.

Between 2010 and 2015, 33,028 new malignancies were recorded in Lahore, with the crude average annual incidence rate being 53.1. In adults, the highest ASIRs were noted for cancers of the breast (77.3) among females and of prostate (11.4) in men. Age-specific incidence rates for female breast cancer showed an upward trend at the age of 20 years, reaching a figure of 160 at the age of 55 years. Among males, the rates for prostate cancer started to increase at the age of 55 years and reached a peak of 93 at 75 years.

These results warrant expanding cancer registration in the region and sharing statistics with policy-makers to establish hospitals accordingly to manage cancer, along with exploring various risk factors within the population.