Colorectal Cancer in Iran: A Survey on National Cancer Registry Data

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers (Azadeh et al., 2008; Haggar & Boushey, 2009) accounting for one million new cases each year and 500,000 deaths annually worldwide (Boyle & Leon, 2002). The incidence of CRC is high in North America, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and Japan and low in South America, Asia and a big part of Africa (Faivre et al., 2002).However many Asian countries, particularly in the developed or more westernized nations, have also experienced increasing incidence rates similar to other developed nations (Yee et al., 2009). Screening is a strategy involves the detection of precancerous polyps and cancers in asymptomatic individuals can prevent the subsequent development of CRC(Jackson et al., 2006; Chong et al., 2009). Studies showed through the use of screening that at least 60% of death from CRC could be prevented (Jackson et al., 2006; Pahlavan & Kanthan, 2006). Reports indicated that the implementation of screening program of CRC in United States has decreased the mortality rate (Chong et al.,