Study: Lung Cancer to Remain Top Cancer Killer in North Africa Through 2040

Entitled "Cancers in Central Maghreb: Epidemiology from 1990 to 2017 and Trend in 2040", this study was conducted by doctors from the three Maghreb countries. Its objective is to describe the epidemiology of cancers in terms of overall morbidity burden, incidence, prevalence and typology in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, from 1990 to 2017, as well as their trends from 2017 to 2040.

The data from the "Global Burden of Disease" (GBD) database of the "Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation" (IHME) were used as a basis for the researchers. In 2017 and in the three Maghreb countries, cancers were the second leading cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases which had dominated the causes of death since 1990. The statistics indicate that the specific cancer mortality rate (per 100,000 population) was 82.23 in Tunisia, 69.05 in Morocco and 69.03 in Algeria, i.e. an overall specific mortality rate in Central Maghreb of 69.03.

Until 2040, the three most important cancers in terms of mortality rate remain lung cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer in these Maghreb countries, the study reveals, specifying that these three types of cancer are closely related mainly to risk factors linked to lifestyle habits.