Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world after lung cancer and breast cancer. It is also fourth most common cause of cancer death globally [1]. In males, CRC is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, and in females, it is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer. In 2012, more than 9% of all new cases of cancer were attributed to CRC, accounting for roughly 1.4 million cases [2]. Of these cases, 746,000 were in males and 614,000 were in females [3]. OBJECTIVES:Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the provincial distribution of the incidence of CRC across Iran. METHODS:This epidemiologic study used data from the National Cancer Registry of Iran and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran. The average annual age-standardized rate (ASR) for the incidence of CRC was calculated for each province. RESULTS:We found that adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified) was the most common histological subtype of CRC in males and females, accounting for 81.91 and 81.95% of CRC cases, respectively. Signet ring cell carcinoma was the least prevalent subtype of CRC in males and females and accounted for 1.5 and 0.94% of CRC cases, respectively. In patients aged 45 years or older, there was a steady upward trend in the incidence of CRC, and the highest ASR of CRC incidence among both males and females was in the age group of 80-84 years, with an ASR of 144.69 per 100,000 person-years for males and 119.18 per 100,000 person-years for females. The highest incidence rates of CRC in Iran were found in the central, northern, and western provinces. Provinces in the southeast of Iran had the lowest incidence rates of CRC. CONCLUSIONS:Wide geographical variation was found in the incidence of CRC across the 31 provinces of Iran. These variations must be considered for prevention and control programs for CRC, as well as for resource allocation purposes.

Background: A geographic disparity for breast cancer (BC) incidence by provinces is introduced in Iran. Present study aimed to clarify the geographic disparity of BC incidence after considering the age and gender. Methods: In this ecological study data about BC incidence extracted from reports of national registry of cancer (NCR), and Disease Control and Prevention in 2008. BC incidence mapping was conducted in geographic information system (GIS). Results: The results were consistent with previous reports but extend the previous knowledge with regarding the age and gender. Highest age specific rates (ASRs) of BC occurred in the provinces located in Central and Northern of Iran. Tehran and Sistan & Balochestan had highest and lowest ASR for male BC and female BC respectively. Conclusion: given that BC occurs more in Central and Northern provinces that are mainly with high socioeconomic status (SES) levels, so it is suggested that disparity in BC incidence can be reduced through planning special programs such as education, screening, and preventive policy in provinces with high priorities.

The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight in Iranian children under 5 years of age using a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, CINHAL, and the Iranian databases, including Scientific Information Database (www.sid.ir), Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (Irandoc.ac.ir), Iranmedex (www.iranmedex.com), and Magiran (www.magiran.com), for all articles published between January 1989 and August 2017. Sources of heterogeneity were determined using subgroup analysis and meta-regression. Results: Six articles were ultimately included in the meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence, based on which the prevalence of obesity and overweight were estimated to be 8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6%-10%) and 9% (95% CI, 7%-11%), respectively. The results of the subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of obesity in boys and girls was 9% (95% CI, 6%-13%) and 7% (95% CI, 4-10%), respectively, and the prevalence of overweight in boys and girls was 10% (95% CI, 5%-15%) and 9% (95% CI, 5%-13%), respectively. Conclusion: Despite high heterogeneity among the results of the articles included in the meta-analysis, the prevalence of obesity and overweight is higher in Iranian children under 5 years of age. Therefore, parents and the health system must pay more attention to the lifestyle, nutritional habits, and physical activity of these children.

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Objective The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis study was to determine the pooled estimate of the effect of antenatal magnesium sulfate (MgSO 4 ) on intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in premature infants. Methods Two review authors independently searched all randomized clinical trials from international databases, including Medline (PubMed), Web of Sciences, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Research Registers of ongoing trials (ClinicalTrials.gov), from January 1989 to August 2017. Two independent review authors were responsible for data collection. After extracting the necessary information from the evaluated articles, metaanalysis of the data was performed using Stata version 14. Also, sources of heterogeneity among studies were determined by Meta regression. Results In this study, among 126 articles that were extracted from primary studies, 7 papers that evaluated the effect of MgSO 4 on IVH were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that pooled relative risk (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.63 to 1.03) for the effect of MgSO 4 on IVH. Conclusion Results of this study showed that although MgSO 4 had a protective effect on IVH in premature infants, this effect was not statistically significant. Further studies are needed to determine the best dosage, timing, and gestational age to achieve the optimum effect of MgSO 4 on IVH. Systematic Review Registration International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) Identifier: CRD42019119610