The Leading Cancer Types In Afghanistan

Background: In most countries,cancer is one of the main causes of death.In Afghanistan,due to civil war and social unrest,no further research has been carried out in the field of non communicable diseases,so there is little research data related to cancer.According to the World Health Organization,about 20000 Afghans were diagnosed with cancer in 2014.It is mainly breast cancer,cervical cancer,gastric cancer,esophageal cancer,lung cancer and head and neck cancer.About 15000 people died of cancer.The lack of public awareness of cancer prevention and the lack of standard diagnosis and treatment methods in Afghanistan are the main reasons for the high morbidity and mortality.Therefore,how to raise the public's awareness of cancer and improve the standard of cancer diagnosis and treatment is an urgent problem in AfghanistanMethod: The Afghan Cancer Foundation conducted a questionnaire survey in schools,universities and other public places in Kabul City in 2018.The main object of the survey is the social education level.In the questionnaire survey,they are asked to provide information about the family.If there are cancer patients in the family,they are required to provide information about the age,gender,treatment history,cancer type,patient status and so on.With their consent,the questionnaire returned by the participants was analyzed by the Afghan Cancer Foundation.Results: The total population of this survey is 238491,including 121192 females and117299 males.The number of reported deaths was 8335,which is equivalent to 3.49% of the surveyed population,while the total number of living patients was 368,accounting for 0.15% of the surveyed population.Breast cancer accounts for 33%,gastric cancer for17%,leukemia for 14%,liver cancer for 5%,esophageal cancer for 2.9%,cervix for2.4%,brain tumor for 2.4% and others for 23%.According to the survey,breast cancer,gastric cancer and leukemia are the three major cancer sites.Conclusion: In Afghanistan,especially in Kabul,breast cancer is the highest incidence rate among women in Afghanistan.The main reason is women's low level of basic education or lack of self-awareness of breast examination.In addition,gastric cancer is the second most common cancer in Afghanistan,especially in men.It is the second largest cancer diagnosed in Afghanistan,mainly due to the low level of public awareness of the risk factors of gastric cancer and the lack of gastric cancer treatment facilities.Finally,leukemia is the third most common cancer in Afghan society.