Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Cancer incidence has increased abnormally in Iran, board member of Iranian Association of General Surgeons, Behzad Rahmani said, Asre-Iran news portal reported on Jan. 3.
Commenting on the issue Rahmani went on to say that while more cancer cases happen in old ages increasing life expectancy is one reason for rising cancer incidence in Iran.
If men live to 85 years, 95 percent of them would face prostate cancer, Rahmani added.
Rahmani also underlined that stomach and esophagus cancers were most common previously, while recently lung cancer has topped the list of cancer cases in the country.
Breast cancer incidence is also high among Iranian women, Rahmani said, adding that younger women are also being threatened by breast cancer.
Rahmani said that the age of cancer has decreased in the country in some cases.
Earlier colon cancer occurred in people aged 50 or over, meanwhile recently the cancer occurs in people aged less than 25 years old, Rahmani added.
The main known reason for increase of cancer incidence is stress, Rahmani underlined.
He also said that the air pollution increases the incidence of lung cancer.
Iranian media outlets claim that cancer is the third top reason for deaths in Iran, as every day about 105 people in the country die of cancer.
Official statistics in Iran say there are about 63,000 cases of cancer revealed in the country annually.
However, according to the Iranian media, the real number of cancer patients is 90,000-95,000, with over 50,000-55,000 fatalities.
In 2012, Dr. Parviz Daryaei in Iran said that breast cancer is the third leading cause of death among Iranian women and 25,000 to 30,000 new cases are reported every year, noting that only colon and rectal cancers kill more women.