Cancer Incidence and Mortality Trends in the United Arab Emirates, 2011–2024: A National Epidemiological Analysis
Humaid O. Al-Shamsi, Saeed Rafii, Deborah Mukherji, Faryal Iqbal, Khalifa Mohammad AlOlama, Mohammed Humaid Al-Shamsi, Sarah Humaid Al-Shamsi, Abdulla Humaid Al-Shamsi, Falah Al-KhatibAbstract
Background:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has undergone rapid demographic and healthcare transformation, with important implications for cancer control. This study examined changes in the national cancer burden and mortality patterns between 2011 and 2024.
Materials and Methods:
Aggregated data from the UAE National Cancer Registry were analyzed for available reporting years between 2011 and 2024. Registered cancer cases were evaluated by sex, nationality, age, and primary cancer site, alongside available mortality and pediatric cancer data. Absolute frequencies, proportions, reported rates, and percentage changes were summarized descriptively. Changes in case counts were interpreted as changes in recorded cancer burden rather than individual cancer risk.
Results:
Registered cancer cases increased from 2281 in 2011 to 9219 in 2024. Females consistently accounted for more cases than males, while non-Emiratis represented the majority of registered cancer cases. Between 2021 and 2024, registered cases increased for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (+99.1%), thyroid (+84.5%), kidney and renal pelvis (+66.9%), colorectal (+55.1%), and prostate cancers (+52.2%). Breast cancer remained the predominant malignancy among females, while colorectal cancer represented a major component of the male cancer burden. Cancer deaths increased from 867 in 2015 to 1629 in 2024, with an age-standardized mortality rate of 33.0 per 100,000 in 2024.
Conclusions:
The recorded cancer burden in the UAE increased substantially between 2011 and 2024, with evolving site-specific and mortality patterns. Strengthened standardized surveillance, including age-standardized incidence, stage, and survival reporting, is essential to distinguish demographic and ascertainment effects from true changes in cancer risk and guide national cancer-control priorities.