Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) for Cancers in Iran, 1990 to 2016: Review of Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study

Cancer with 13% of all deaths is the third leading cause of mortality in Iran. We aimed to assess the burden of cancer in Iran by acquiring data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study.

This study was conducted on the DALY approach to examine the cancer burden in Iran from 1990 to 2016. A list of all cancers was extracted using the International Classification of Disease, tenth revision (ICD-10). Then, the cancer burden was assessed based on the type of cancer. The Percentage change (PC) by Daly’s number and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) was estimated. The cause of PC on the DALYs number from cancer was analyzed, and the share of every variable was determined.

In 2016, cancer caused 781.5 and 564 thousand DALYs for men and women, respectively. In all years, the DALYs number of cancer is higher in men than women. From 1990 to 2016, leukemia, stomach, tracheal, bronchus and lung (TBL) cancers were among the leading causes of cancer burden in Iran. The highest increase in PC of cancer DALYs from 1990 to 2016 happened by multiple myeloma with 302.4% and breast with 283.7%. The lowest increase occurred by Hodgkin lymphoma (-2.1%) and leukemia (18.2%).

Cancers have grown more than doubled in terms of DALYs from 1990 to 2016. The majority of DALYs were due to Years of Life Lost, suggesting the need for prevention, early detection, and screening programs.