cancer incidence among the elderly population in the northwest of iran: a population based study

this article was aimed to provide an overview and a perspective on the changing impact of cancers with increasing age on three age groups. a population based cancer registry was undertaken to register all new cancers cases from march 2006 to march 2007. during one year, 2023 (41.1%) of 4922 patients with cancer were ≥65 years. the five most common cancers (excluding skin cancer) were stomach, bladder, esophagus, prostate and lung in males and esophagus, stomach, breast, colorectal cancer and bladder in females. taking into account the increasing life expectancy in iran, establishment and implementation of national cancer control program should be of priority for health policy makers in this country.   key words: geriatric; cancer; incidence; iran references   1. balducci l , extermann m , a practical approach to the older patient with cancer, curr. probl. cancer. 2001;25: 6-76   2. repettoa l, venturinob a , fratinoc l, serrainod d, troisie g, giannia w, et al. geriatric oncology: a clinical approach to the older patient with cancer. e. j. cancer. 2003; 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