Lymphomas in Iran: Results of the Golestan Population-based Cancer Registry

Cancer in all forms causes 9% of deaths throughout the world. In the developed countries it is the second cause of death and in the developing countries it is ranked as the fourth cause of death. In Iran, cancer ranks as the third cause of death. Geographical, racial and habitual differences have led to the variation in the incidence of cancer in different regions of this country. The second most prevalent types of cancer in Iran are lymphoma and leukemia (L&L). The estimated incidence of L&L in 1952 was 0.66 per 100,000 population and 5.9/100,000 during 1987-2003 in Mazandaran province (the highest incidence rate was observed in Babol (7.29) and the least was equally calculated in Neka and Tonekabon (1.47) (Tahmasebi et al., 2008). Lymphoma is the third most common cancer among children in USA, with an annual incidence of 15 per million children < 14 yr of age (Cairo and Bradley, 2007). Lymphomas are malignancies of the lymphoid cells and