The Ministry of Health, represented by the National Oman Cancer Registry at the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Directorate General of Primary Health Care, has released the latest cancer statistics in the Sultanate of Oman for 2019, where the total number of diagnosed cases reached 2,307 (Nationals and non-nationals). The number of Omani patients diagnosed with cancer in 2019 was 2,089, while the number of cancer cases among non-Omanis was 200 and 18 cases of carcinoma in situ. Cancer was also the third cause of death in hospitals, after respiratory diseases, secondly, and diseases of the circulatory system first.

The frequency distributions of cancer incidence rates showed that the number of Omani females was higher than those of males, reaching 1,158 (55.43%), while the number of males was 931 (44.57%). 124 cases were recorded among children less than 14 years of age.

It is worth noting that the average age at diagnosis is 54 years, which increases among males to reach 60 years compared to 50 years for females.

The data also showed that the crude cancer rate among Omanis is 69.6 per 100,000 males and 87.9 per 100,000 females. According to the standard world population table ASR, the global average indicates 113.6 per hundred thousand Omanis and 122.4 per hundred thousand Omanis.

Breast cancer still ranks first among all cancers in general and among women in particular, as the number of cases has reached 350, and 31% were diagnosed in the third and fourth stages. Thyroid cancer ranked second among all cancers of both sexes and females.

The following table shows the most common cancers among Omani males and females.

The National Cancer Registry in Oman began recording cancer cases first as a hospital-based registry in 1985 and then as a population-based registry since 1996. The registry collects and records data for cancer patients from various data sources throughout Oman. The National Cancer Registry issues an annual report containing the most important data collected, in line with international standards, such as those of the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The National Cancer Registry has many aspects of cooperation with local, international and regional associations and organizations concerned with cancer registration.

The importance of having a national cancer registry lies in the presence of a database that is used as a reference for research and educational purposes by researchers and decision-makers.