Clinical and Histopathological Patterns of Cancer in Tabuk City

The incidence of cancer increased substantially in the previous decades. In addition, increasing mortality was observed. No researchers have assessed cancer prevalence in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The current study investigated the pattern of cancer in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia. A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted in the Pathology Department at King Fahd Specialist Hospital from June 2023 to September 2023. All the records of patients diagnosed with malignancies between 2019 and 2020 were approached confidentially according to the Helsinki Declaration. A checklist has been used to record the age, sex, residence, and marital status. The type of cancer, behavior, extent, stage, and histopathology were recorded. Out of 354 patients (52.05±17.71, and 48% females), the majority were Saudis (79.4%), 48.3% were married, and 90.97% were from Tabuk City. The specimens were obtained from lymph nodes (18.1%), breasts, and colon (14.4% each). In this study, nearly two-thirds (61.3%) were carcinoma in situ, 18.4% showed lymph node metastasis, and 9% distant metastasis. The majority of cancer (99.4%) was malignant. The commonest histopathological finding was carcinoma (malignant and undifferentiated), followed by adenocarcinoma in 19.8% and papillary thyroid carcinoma in 10.5%. The commonest malignancies in Tabuk City were breast, colon, and thyroid, respectively. Carcinoma in situ was the most common, followed by lymph node and distant metastasis. The histopathology varied between carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. Further prospective studies investigating cancer risk factors are needed.