A 25-year trend in gastrointestinal cancers in northern Iran (1991-2016)

Background: identifying the incidence of cancer helps in planning and prioritizing resources for its screening, prevention, treatment and diagnosis. this study aimed at investigating a 25-year trend in gastrointestinal cancer in northern iran during 1991-2016. methods: this research was a trend analysis. the study population was one thousand five hundred and thirty-five cancer patients referring to shahid rajai hospital in babolsar, northern iran, as the only center for radiotherapy in the north of iran, during 1991-2016. spss version 22 was used for entering data and t-test, ᵡ2 and anova were used for analyzing data in the significant level of ≤0.05. results: the highest incidence of stomach cancer was 111 (35%) in 2011 and the lowest incidence was 44 (16.3%) in 1996, the highest frequency of esophageal cancer was reported 137(56.1%) cases in 1991 and the lowest frequency was 78 (26.3%) cases in 2016, while the highest incidence of colorectal cancer was 109 (36.7%) cases in 2016 and its lowest frequency was 32 (16.3%) in 1996. there was also a significant difference in the frequency of gastrointestinal cancers in different studied years (p <0.001). conclusion: the trends in the incidence of stomach and colorectal cancers in northern iran were increasing while esophageal cancer was decreasing.