Clinicopathological pattern of colorectal cancer in the United Arab Emirates

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to define the epidemiology of the colorectal cancer in the United Arab Emirates and compare it with the other Gulf States and developed countries.

METHODS: This study is a retrospective descriptive study that includes 114 patients who underwent surgeries for colorectal carcinoma at Al-Ain and Tawam Hospitals in the United Arab Emirates during the period 1985 through to 1998. These patients were under medical follow up for a mean period of 24 months (range 6-120 months) Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess predictors of recurrence and survival. The survival curves were computed by using Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS: Mean annual incidence was 12 patients/year. There were 77 males (67.5%) and 37 females (32.5%). The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 46.6 ± 11.8 years with the median age of 47 years. The mean overall survival time was 63.7 ± 7.7 months. The survival time was shorter for younger patients, those with palliative resection, lymph node metastasis and peritoneal nodules. In multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis the hazard ratio for positive lymph nodes was 2.30 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.22-4.50) as compared to negative nodes and a hazard ratio of 0.52 (95% CI 0.32-0.89) for Dukes stages A and B as compared to Stage C.

CONCLUSION: Colorectal carcinoma is not a common disease in the United Arab Emirates. In general, the incidence pattern is similar to that of neighboring Gulf and Arab countries. The main reasons of low incidence of colorectal cancer in these countries could be due to the dietary factors, which is intake of more fruit and vegetables.