Exploring Geographic Variability in Cancer Prevalence in Eastern Morocco: A Retrospective Study over Eight Years

BACKGROUND: Malignant diseases have been believed to be more common in some areas of Eastern Morocco, but until now, cancer patterns have not been reported for this region. In this paper we present for the first time the cancer prevalence analysis in Eastern Morocco. METHODS: Cross-sectional study carried out among all patients diagnosed and/or treated with cancer at the Hassan II Regional Oncology Center (ROC) since it was established in October 2005 until December 2012. The ROC is the only hospital specialized in cancer care in Eastern Morocco. RESULTS: A total of 8,508 cases of cancer were registered among residents in Eastern Morocco, with a female to male ratio of 2.1. The mean age at diagnosis was 53.9 ± 15.2 years (median age = 53 years). Thus, unlike in Western countries, cancer in Eastern Morocco afflicts younger population. The areas of Eastern Morocco did not differ significantly by mean age at diagnosis (p = 0.061). However, these regions differed significantly by sex ratio (p < 0.001). The highest sex ratio was observed in Figuig, with a female to male ratio of 3.1 (75.4% of the registered case were females), followed respectively by Taourirt, Oujda-Angad, Berkane, Nador-Driouch and Jerada. Clear variation in the distribution of cancer types between areas of Eastern Morocco was observed, both in males and females (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the areas of Eastern Morocco differed significantly by cancer prevalence (p < 0.001). The highest age-standardized five-year prevalence proportion was observed in Oujda-Angad with 420.2 per 100,000, followed respectively by Berkane (311.4), Jerada (287.8), Taourirt (269.3), Nador-Driouch (213.6) and Figuig (194.4). Trends in the five-year prevalence proportions decreased in Oujda-Angad, Berkane and Jerada throughout the study period, while an increasing trend was observed in Nador-Driouch, Taourirt and Figuig. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, our study presents the pattern and distribution of diagnosed cancers in Eastern Morocco. Our study illustrates substantial differences in cancer patterns between areas of Eastern Morocco. These findings are important for cancer control and highlight the need to develop program aiming at controlling and preventing the spread of major cancer sites in Eastern Morocco, particularly in areas with increased cancer prevalence rates.