THE PATTERN OF NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA IN SAUDI ARABIA: A DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF DATA FROM SAUDI CANCER REGISTRY 2002-2013.

This study describes the epidemiological data of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cases diagnosed from 2002 to 2013 among male and female Saudis, including crude incidence rate (CIR) and age-adjusted incidence rate stratified by age group, region, gender, and year of diagnosis. It is an epidemiological analysis of all NPC cases registered in the Saudi Cancer Registry (SCR) from 2002 to 2013. The statistical analyses were performed using parametric test to identify the significant differences between regions and genders, with focusing on the overall CIR and age-adjusted incidence rate stratified by region, gender, and year of diagnosis. The region of Qassim had the highest overall age-adjusted incidence rate of NPC among male Saudis from 2002 to 2013. While, the region of Jouf had the highest overall age-adjusted incidence rate of NPC among female Saudis from 2002 to 2013. In addition, the region of Jazan had the lowest overall age-adjusted incidence rate of NPC among male and female Saudis from 2002 to 2013. The age groups within the range of (60-74 and 45-59) were highest affected by NPC among both genders. However, the age-adjusted incidence rates of NPC were significantly higher in Saudi male than in female with approximately ratio of 2:1. This study revealed that the region of Qassim is the best geographic area in Saudi Arabia to study the major risk factors of NPC among male Saudis. While, the region of Jouf is the best geographic area to study the major risk factors of NPC among female Saudis. Furthermore, the region of Jazan is the best geographic area in Saudi Arabia to study the most important protective factors of NPC among male and female Saudis.