No data exist on the population prevalence of, or risk factors for, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in Iran or the Middle East. Cervical specimens were obtained from 825 married women aged 18-59 years from the general population of Tehran, Iran and from 45 locally diagnosed invasive cervical cancers (ICC) according to the standardized protocol of the International Agency for Research on Cancer HPV Prevalence Surveys. HPV was detected and genotyped using a GP5+/6+ PCR-based assay. HPV prevalence in the general population was 7.8% (95% confidence interval: 6.0-9.8) (5.1% of high-risk types), with no significant variation by age. HPV positivity was significantly higher among divorced women, women in polygamous marriages and those reporting husband's absence from home for >7 nights/month. HPV16/18 accounted for 30 and 82.2% of HPV-positive women in the general population and ICC, respectively. Cervical cancer prevention policies should take into account the relatively low HPV prevalence in this population.

Males were affected more than females. A significant male predominance was observed in craniopharyngioma and medulloblastoma. Astrocytoma was the first most common brain tumor in all age groups. Certain tumor types show a predilection for the certain period of life.

BackgroundBreast cancer is the most common cancer in Iranian women as is worldwide. Mammography screening has been introduced as a beneficial method for reducing mortality and morbidity of this disease.ObjectivesWe developed an analytical model to assess the cost effectiveness of an organized mammography screening program in Iran for early detection of the breast cancer.Patients and MethodsThis study is an economic evaluation of mammography screening program among Iranian woman aged 40 - 70 years. A decision tree and Markov model were applied to estimate total quality adjusted life years (QALY) and lifetime costs.ResultsThe results revealed that the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) of mammography screening in Iranian women in the first round was Int. $ 37,350 per QALY gained. The model showed that the ICER in the second and third rounds of screening program were Int. $ 141,641 and Int. $ 389,148 respectively.ConclusionsStudy results identified that mammography screening program was cost-effective in 53% of the cases, but incremental cost per QALY in the second and third rounds of screening are much higher than the accepted payment threshold of Iranian health system. Thus, evaluation of other screening strategies would be useful to identify more cost-effective program. Future studies with new national data can improve the accuracy of our finding and provide better information for health policy makers for decision making.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Improvements of early diagnosis modalities have led to longer survival rates. This study aimed to determine the 5, 10 and 15 year mortality rates of breast cancer patients compared to the normal female population. Materials and Methods: The follow up data of a cohort of 615 breast cancer patients referred to Iranian Breast Cancer Research Center (BCRC) from 1986 to 1996 was considered as reference breast cancer dataset. The dataset was divided into 5 year age groups and the 5, 10 and 15 year probability of death for each group was estimated. The annual mortality rate of Iranian women was obtained from the Death Registry system. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of breast cancer patients were calculated using the ratio of the mortality rate in breast cancer patients over the general female population. Results: The mean age of breast cancer patients at diagnosis time was 45.9 (±10.5) years ranging from 24-74. A total of 73, 32 and 2 deaths were recorded at 5, 10 and 15 years, respectively, after diagnosis. The SMRs for breast cancer patients at 5, 10 and 15 year intervals after diagnosis were 6.74 (95% CI, 5.5-8.2), 6.55 (95%CI, 5-8.1) and 1.26 (95%CI, 0.65-2.9), respectively. Conclusion: Results showed that the observed mortality rate of breast cancer patients after 15 years from diagnosis was very similar to expected rates in general female population. This finding would be useful for clinicians and health policy makers to adopt a beneficial strategy to improve breast cancer survival. Further follow-up time with larger sample size and a pooled analysis of survival rates of different centres may shed more light on mortality patterns of breast cancer.