Epidemiology of Bladder Cancers in Fars Province, Southern Iran (2003-2008)

Background & Aims: In the western countries, bladder cancer is the fourth and eighth common cancer in males and females, respectively, and like other cancers it has been significantly increasing in last years. The aim of this study was to find out the epidemiology of bladder cancer in Fars province /Iran during 2003-2008 according to cancer registry data system. Methods: In this epidemiological study, using Fars province cancer registry data, the incidence rates were calculated per 100,000 people and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) was calculated by direct method using the world standard population. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 and Microsoft Excel 2007 software. Results: Over a 6-year period, 1828 new cases were recorded in Fars province. The highest incidence rate was observed in males and the age group of over 70 years. The ASR of bladder cancer in these six years were receptively 6.9, 6.5, 11.1, 10.02, 12.6 and 10.3, for 100,000 showing a significantly increasing trend. Conclusion: Despite the significantly increasing trend, the ASR of bladder cancer in Fars province is very lower in comparison with western countries