Mortality rate and years of life lost due to cancer in Iran from 2011 to 2018

Objective (s):

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death. Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Iran. The goal of this study was to identify the trends in cancer mortality by age and sex in Iran from 2011 to 2018.

We analyzed cancer mortality data available in the Civil Registration Organization. A total of 278301 cancer deaths were registered in this database during 2011-2018. The rate of cancer deaths was then compared by age, sex, and time.  

The cancer death rate (per 100,000) has increased from 38 in 2011 to 47 in 2017. The mean age of mortality by cancer, death rate, and its increase was higher among men than women. Premature death due to cancer has increased from 420 to 530 thousand person-years of life during 2011 to 2016, respectively. This increase was mainly due to an increase in adulthood cancer and old age, especially among the male gender.

Cancer deaths have increased in Iran since cancer has increased in the country as an epidemiological transition consequence. To overcome such excess mortality preventive measures are recommended.