Jordan cancer cases increase

Mahmoud Sarhan, director of Jordan's King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) has said that cancer cases in the country are on the rise and are expected to reach more than 19,000 annually by 2050 due to growing population, Jordan Times has reported. Projections did not take into consideration other lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet and exercise, which also contribute to the cancer rate, he said. According to the latest figures released by the Non-Communicable Disease Directorate's Jordan Cancer Registry, there were 4,198 new cancer cases in 2006, up from 3,678 in the year before. The 2007 report is expected to be released in the next few weeks.