Epidemiological trends of hematological malignancies in North Africa: Recent insights

Hematologic malignancies (HMs) remain the leading cause of the global tumor burden, with growing absolute numbers. Real-world data in North Africa regarding HMs are lacking. Therefore, we aimed to report the updated insights into the prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates of HMs in North African countries to guide patient care and health policy in the region.

Epidemiological data on the incidence, prevalence and mortality of HMs, including sex, age, and age-standardized rate (ASR) of HM in North African countries from 1992 to 2024 were extracted from different electronic databases.

Our results indicate that non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the most prevalent HM in North Africa, exhibiting the highest incidence and mortality rates, followed by leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and multiple myeloma (MM), with a male predominance. Specifically, most NHL subtypes in North African countries are nodal and aggressive, including DLBCL, MALT, mantle cell lymphoma, and anaplastic B-cell lymphoma. In adolescents and children, leukemia is the first group of neoplasms reported in the region. The most frequent types are (acute leukemia) AL, including acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), also with a male predominance. Other risk factors are linked to HMs, including bacterial and viral ones, diabetes mellitus, autoimmunity and genetic disorders.

These findings underline the importance of region- and gender-specific research to guide healthcare policies and improve patient care.