Incidence Trends of Major Women's Cancers in Saudi Arabia: A Ten-Year Population-Based Registry Analysis (2014-2023)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.170620266588Keywords:
Breast Neoplasms, Thyroid Neoplasms, Uterine Neoplasms, Ovarian Neoplasms, Uterine Cervical Neoplasms, Incidence, Registries, Saudi ArabiaAbstract
Background: Women's cancers constitute a substantial cancer burden in Saudi Arabia, yet long-term trend analyses remain limited. This study aims to characterise incidence trends of the five most common women's cancers in Saudi Arabia over a decade.
Methods: We analysed Saudi Cancer Registry data for Saudi females, 2014-2023, covering breast, corpus uteri, thyroid, ovarian, and cervical cancers. Temporal trends were assessed using log-linear regression to estimate Annual Percentage Change (APC) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs); mean annual case counts for 2014-2018 vs 2019-2023 were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results: The five cancers accounted for 46,922 female cases over the decade. Breast cancer was most common (n = 27,452), with a significant upward trend (APC 8.18%, 95% CI 6.07-10.32; p = 0.0001). Thyroid (APC 7.13%, 4.42-9.91), corpus uteri (6.72%, 4.92-8.55), ovarian (5.21%, 3.02-7.44), and cervical (5.05%, 2.29-7.88) cancers also increased significantly (all p <0.01).
Conclusions: All five major women's cancers showed significant upward trends among Saudi females between 2014 and 2023. The findings support expanded screening, targeted prevention of metabolic and reproductive risk factors, and strengthened cancer surveillance.
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