The Epidemiological Survey of the Cancer Patients Referring to the Radiotherapy Center at Vali-e-Asr Teaching Hospital in Zanjan, Iran (2016-2018)

Cancer is defined as the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells and the second most common cause of death across the world. More than half of new cancer cases are reported in developing countries, the prevalence of cancer is on the rise in these countries due to the lifestyle risk factors associated with cancer. It is predicted that cancer will become the main cause of death worldwide. The present study aimed to attain the epidemiologic data of cancer patients in Zanjan province, Iran. The data required for this descriptive study were obtained by reviewing the medical records of the patients during 2016-2018. Data analysis was performed by IBM SPSS version 25. In total, 518 cancer cases were studied, (male-to-female ratio: 1.15). The mean age of the male patients was more than the females. The most common cancers were reported to be breast and brain cancer. The prevalence of cancer was higher in the residents of urban areas. Unlike the most of findings in this study, some of them were not in line with the studies conducted in the other provinces in Iran. Therefore, it is recommended that further investigations be conducted in this regard.