The overview of cancer patients attending in a specialized hospital: A cross sectional study

Abstract

According to National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital most frequently observed cancers in Bangladeshi population are lungs, breast, cervix, lymph node, esophagus, larynx and stomach. The point of epidemiological background, the rate of incidence and mortality are likely unavailable due to lack of population based cancer registry system in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted from 2003 to 2012 with an aim to describe trends and pattern of cancer cases attended a specialized hospital in Dhaka city. A total of 29,999 cancer cases was enrolled and among them the male and female ratio was 1.2:1. The study revealed that around half of the patients attended from Dhaka division, followed by Chittagong division (22.9%) and Sylhet division (8.8%). According to the organ involvement most frequently reported malignancies in males were lung cancer (24.2%), followed by eight percent larynx cancer and six percent lymph node cancer, whereas in females were breast cancer (27.5%), followed by cervix cancer (19.5%) and five percent lung cancer. It has been found that the system involvement was observed of cancers among males respiratory system (33.5%) followed by the digestive organs (20.0%) and oral cavity (14.2%) whereas in females were reproductive organs (26.3%), followed by fourteen percent digestive organs and eight percent oral cancer. The overall cancer trend showed a gradual rise of cancer cases in both sexes. The rate was higher in females rather than male. Without the availability of population based registries, incidence and mortality figures; studies like the present one may provide useful leads for health planning and future exploration.