The Leading Cancer Types in Afghanistan

Background: Researches have shown that cancer is one of the chief causes of death in most of the advanced and developed countries;and in the developing countries, cancer is the second leading cause of death. In Afghanistan, approximately twenty-thousand (20,000) people are diagnosed with cancer annually and fifteen-thousand among these patients die in the same year. Breast cancer in the women is reported to be the highest, stomach the second and blood cancer in the third category in Afghanistan. Method: A questionnaire-based survey during the public awareness campaigns in schools, universities and other public places was conducted by Afghanistan Cancer Foundation in 2018. In the campaigns, the participants were asked to fill the questionnaire;after their consent, the participants returned the questionnaires were analyzed by Afghanistan Cancer Foundation. Results: The survey was conducted over a total population of 238,491 including 121,192 females and 117,299 males. Death cases were reported to be 8335 while the total number of alive patients reaches up to 368. Furthermore, 121 cases of Breast, 64 of stomach, 50 of Leukemia, 19 of Liver, 11 of Esophagus, 9 of Cervix & Uterine, 9 of Brain and 85 cases of other types of cancer were reported. Conclusion: Breast, stomach and blood cancers are the frequently diagnosed cancer sites in Kabul.

Effects of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase single-nucleotide polymorphisms on breast,cervical,ovarian,and endometrial cancer susceptibilities

Background:Recent studies identifying methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR)polymorphisms associated with breast cancer(BC),ovarian cancer(OC),cervical cancer,and endometrial cancer(EC)have reported conflicting results and been underpowered.To clarify the correlation betweenMTHFR mutations and these common female malignancies,we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis incorporating all eligible publications.Methods:Relevant reports published before January 20,2020,were retrieved from PubMed,Embase,the Cochrane Library,and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases.The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval summaries for theMTHFR 677C/T and 1298A/C polymorphisms in BC,OC,cervical cancer,and EC were estimated.Results:A total of 171 studies comprising 56,675 cancer cases and 67,559 controls were included.The results showed a markedly elevated risk of cancer susceptibility related toMTHFR 677C/T based on all genetic models.Similarly,we identified a significant correlation between 1298A/C mutation and cancer risk based on overall comparisons among all models,except the heterozygous model.Moreover,subgroup analysis by cancer type revealed a significantly increased risk of BC associated with 677C/T in the five models and of cervical cancer associated with 1298A/C in some models.Based on ethnicity,significant associations were observed between Asian,African,and mixed populations for 677C/T and the Asian population for 1298A/C.With regard to the sample type used for analysis,we detected a positive association between using blood as the DNA source and cancer risk for 677C/T in all genetic models and for 1298A/C in some genetic models.Further stratification of the results revealed that a notably increased risk was associated with the use of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-length polymorphism or TaqMan as the genotyping method,as well as with the use of population-or hospital-based groups as the controls for 677C/T and 1298A/C,respectively.Conclusion:This meta-analysis suggests thatMTHFR 677C/T and 1298A/C polymorphisms correlate with the risk of common gynecological cancers,with these findings potentially applicable for overall comparisons of related data.