كتيب البرنامج

INTRODUCTION
Cancer is a health care concern that affects all populations around the globe. According to
the 2008 World Cancer Report of the World Health Organization (WHO), the growth and
aging of the world’s population and the continual increase in underlying incidence rates in
low- and middle-income countries will contribute to increases in the global cancer burden.
This global burden will increase from 10.9 million in 2002 to nearly 20 million in 2030
(WHO, 2008).
The etiology of most cancers remains unknown, and cancer prevention measures are
complicated by multiple economic, behavioral, social, and cultural factors. According to the
latest cancer registry report of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center
(KFSH&RC), 72,557 cases of cancer (36,624 in males and 35,933 in females) were registered
at the hospital between 1975 and 2011. The majority were adult cases (63,016 patients
accounting for 86.9% of the total cancer cases). Breast cancer led the list of total cancer
cases (11.7%), followed by leukemia (8.6%), NHL (7.6%), thyroid cancer (6.7%), and colon
and rectum cancers (5.0%). Breast cancer was the most common cancer among females
followed by thyroid, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Leukemia was the most
common cancer in male patients followed by NHL, brain and central nervous system cancer,
and liver cancer (KFSH&RC, 2012).
According to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) report on cancer, the Gulf countries had
95,183 diagnosed cancer cases between 1998 and 2007. 49.6% (47,250 cases) involved
male patients and 50.4% (47,933 cases) involved female patients. Colorectal cancer was the
most common form of cancer in adult (over 15) patients, followed by NHL, lung cancer, and
liver cancer. Breast cancer was the most common form of cancer in females, followed by
thyroid, colorectal, NHL, and ovarian cancers (Gulf Centre for Cancer Control and
Prevention, 2011).
In 2011, the top five cancers in males, according to the United States National Program of
Cancer Registries, were cancers of the prostate, lung and bronchus, colon and rectum,
urinary tract and bladder, and melanomas of the skin. The top five cancers in females were
cancers of the breast, lung and bronchus, colon and rectum, corpus and uterine, and
thyroid (www.cdc.gov).
In 2011, the top five cancers in males in the United Kingdom were prostate cancer, lung
cancer, bowel cancer, bladder cancer, and NHL. The top five cancers in females were breast
cancer, lung cancer, bowel cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer
(http://www.cancerresearchuk.org ).
Goldberg has reported on the leading cancers in various regions in Asia. According to
Goldberg (2015), the cancers that occur most often in East Asia are lung cancer, followed by
stomach, liver, and colorectal cancers. The main cancers in both Central and South Asia are
cervical, uterine, breast, lung, and lip/oral cancers. Breast, lung, colorectal, and stomach
cancers are the leading cancers in West Asia. Lung, breast, liver and colorectal cancers rates
were reported to be the highest in South East Asia (Goldberg, 2015).
ONCOLOGY NURSING DIPLOMA CURRICULUM 7