The first demographic record on cancer in Egypt contains several indications concerning the transformations of this malignant disease over the past few years. The register, which was applied to the Governorate of Gharbia, also contains some indications about the spread of this malignant disease among the different age categories in the governorate. Dr. Ibrahim Abdel Barr, Director of Tanta Tumor Center, said that a complete and precise inventory has been made of the new cases of cancer inside and outside Gharbia since 1999 in cooperation with 57 specialist treatment centers. He then affirmed this inventory brought about new results. On top of them is a change in the kind of cancer among men. Statistics included in the study, which was carried out between 1999 and 2002, show that liver and bladder cancer are battling it out for the first place in terms of number of human cases in Gharbia; the first affects 28 men out of 100,000, while the second 22 every 100,000. As for women, breast cancer still comes on top, as, according to the study, 42.5 women every 100,000 contract this disease in Gharbia. Abdel Barr said the results of this demographic monitoring were approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and published in its 2007 World Cancer book. The Director of the tumor center in Gharbia said that cancer rates in Egypt are still within global ones, namely 150 cases every 100,000 men and 120 every 100,000 women. Yet, he called for a national cancer register in order to have more accurate figures about cancer in Egypt and to find out the most vulnerable groups to each type of cancer as well as males', females' and children's respective infection rates.
