The incidence of leukemia in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive epidemiological analysis of data from the Saudi Cancer Registry 2001-2008

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological data of leukemia cases diagnosed from 2001 to 2008 among male and female Saudis, including the frequency and percentage of cases, the crude incidence rate (CIR), and the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) stratified by leukemia subtype, region, and year of diagnosis.

METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive epidemiological analysis of all Saudi leukemia cases recorded in the Saudi Cancer Registry SCR between January 2001 and December 2008. The study was carried out in 2013 to investigate the pattern of leukemia in the Saudi population. Descriptive statistics and Poisson regression model were used.

RESULTS: A total of 3852 leukemia cases were registered in the SCR between January 2001 and December 2008. The region of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia had the highest overall ASIR among Saudi males at 5.2 per 100,000 males, followed by both the Eastern region and Northern region at 4.9 per 100,000 males. Furthermore, the region of Najran recorded the highest overall ASIR among Saudi females at 4.5 per 100,000 females. However, Jazan had the lowest average ASIRs of leukemia in Saudi Arabia.

CONCLUSION: There was a slight increase in the CIRs and ASIRs of leukemia in Saudi Arabia between 2001 and 2008. Riyadh, the Eastern region, and the Northern region had the highest overall ASIRs of leukemia among Saudi males, and Najran had the highest overall ASIRs of leukemia among Saudi females; while Jazan had the lowest rates among the Saudi population.