Mortality Rates and Years of Life Lost Due to Cancer in Iran: Analysis of Data from the National Death Registration System, 2016

Cancer incidence is a major public health concern and one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the death rate and years of life lost (YLL) due to cancer in Iran.

In this study, death registration system (DRS) data in Iran was used. The Global Health Estimates (GHE-2016) cause categories and ICD-10 codes (C00-C97 and D00-D48) were assigned for deaths due to cancer. The crude, age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) via world standard population was measured, and also YLL due to cancer were calculated using standard life expectancy.

The DRS recorded 53,492 deaths due to cancer (58.82% males and 41.18% females). The cancer mortality rate was 66.92 per 100,000 population (77.7 and 55.87 per 100,000 population in men and women, respectively) and ASMR was 96.4 per 100,000 population (115.7 and 77 per 100,000 population for males and females, respectively). The total YLL due to premature death was 736,564 in males, 580,254 in females, and 1,316,818 in both sexes. Death due to stomach cancer, tracheal, bronchus, and lung, leukemia, brain, and nervous system cancer, and breast cancer comprised the largest YLL category among different cancer sites.

Accounting for more than 1,300,000 YLL attributed to cancer, it is a major public health problem in Iran. Therefore, promoting the prevention and control programs and policies are necessary to improve health indicators and since some cancers are preventable, the burden can be reduced by controlling tobacco use, dietary interventions, and promoting physical activity