Cancer cases exceed 70,000 among GCC states

DUBAI : The total number of cancer cases registered among nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since 2005 reached more than 71, 000, according to a report recently published by the Gulf Center for Cancer Registration (GCCR).

Saudi Arabia topped the list of the most affected GCC countries with 51,587 cancer cases, followed by Oman with almost 8,000 cases, Kuwait with 5,125 cases and Bahrain with 3,338 cases, according to the report.

In the United Arab Emirates, 2,518 cancer cases have been registered over the last five years. The least number of cases among the GCC countries over the last five years was found in Qatar.

The number of cancer cases among children under five years of age was registered at 6,113, which accounts for 8.5 percent of the total cases among the GCC states.

In Saudi Arabia, an average 11,000 new cancer cases were registered each year from 2005, the highest cancer incidence rates among the Gulf States, said Fahd al-Khudairi, secretary of the Saudi Cancer Society, in an interview with Al Arabiya.

The number of cancer cases that were detected at an early stage reached 22 percent, al-Khudairi added, calling for concerted efforts for early detection and treatment of the disease, especially with the shortage of beds available in Saudi hospitals.