Background: Cancer is the third main cause of death in Iran. This report was provided for explaining cancer incidence and mortality. Patients and methods: The National Cancer Registry reports from 2003 to 2006, population-based cancer registry reports from five provinces in 2006 and National Death Registry reports from 1999 to 2004 have been applied in this report. Results: The age-standardized incidence rate of cancers was 98 and 110 per 100 000 among females and males. The male to female standard ratio was 1.12. The most common cancer among women and men was breast cancer (24) and stomach cancer (15), respectively. The estimated mortality rate for cancer was 41.1 and 65 per 100 000 for females and males in 2004. Conclusion: The current low cancer incidence rates in Iran might be due to lack of national cancer screening programs for prostate, colorectal or breast cancer, a consequence of incomplete registration as well as incomplete diagnosis of cancer patients; it is expected that it will rise dramatically in the future because of anticipated increase in life expectancy and westernized lifestyle. The first priorities for health policy makers should be developing, establishing and implementing national cancer control; or else, the health system could not respond to the demands regarding to diagnosis, treatment and palliation for these patients in the future.

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies among Iranian women, however; the epidemiological aspects of breast cancer among Iranian patients are uncertain. A literature review of the published articles from January 1998 to December 2005 was conducted using different search engines: MEDLINE, Scientific information data base of Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, and over 2000 issues of 94 Persian medical journals. The headings “Breast Cancer,”“Breast Tumor,”“Breast Malignancy,” and “Breast Carcinoma” were combined with the word “Iran” to execute the search. In all, 85 full papers were reviewed. These findings showed that participants ranged from 15 to 84 years old, with those 40–49 being the most prevalent. The incidence of breast cancer in women was 22 per 100,000. The prevalence in this same population was 120 per 100,000. Stage I was diagnosed in 18%, stage II in 57% and stage III in 25% of the cases. About 72% of the patients were diagnosed with a tumor over 2 cm. Sixty‐three percent of the patients had lymph node involvement at the diagnostic time. Infiltrative ductal carcinoma was found to be the most common at 77% and lobular carcinoma the least at 5%. This review indicates that the epidemiological aspects of breast cancer in Iran are relatively well‐studied. Shortcomings in study of its clinical aspects are evident and need to be a central part of upcoming investigations.

Measles is a leading cause of death worldwide because of vaccine preventable diseases. Prevention and control of measles and rubella is a high priority for the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2002, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran developed a comprehensive strategy to eliminate measles and rubella. This strategy included recommendations for a mass immunization campaign for all persons between the ages of 5-25 years with measles-rubella (MR) vaccine. This report reviews the results of this campaign and progress in the elimination of measles and rubella in Iran. Measles vaccination coverage, supplemental immunization activities, surveillance data, and results from a nationwide serosurvey were reviewed. Between 1980 and 2005, vaccination coverage ranged from 38%-99% with sustained high coverage (> or =94-99%) for the past decade. Despite high coverage with the first dose of measles vaccine (MCV1) and the introduction of a second dose of measles in 1984, case counts remained high between 1980 and 2005 with a median case count of 4414. In December 2003, a nationwide immunization campaign was conducted targeting 33,579,082 people between the ages of 5 and 25 years with a combined measles and rubella vaccine; 98% of the target population was vaccinated. A postcampaign serosurvey conducted in 2004 revealed >97.4% of the population aged between 5 and 40 years had immunity to measles and rubella. Case-based surveillance for measles identified 3 children with laboratory confirmed disease in 2004, 35 in 2005, and 42 children in 2006. Most confirmed disease occurred in immigrant communities or communities with migrant populations from neighboring counties with ongoing measles outbreaks. Surveillance for rubella was established after the campaign and identified 37 patients with confirmed disease in the follow-up period. Implementation of a comprehensive strategy for measles elimination in Iran has remarkably reduced the incidence of measles and rubella to <1 case per 1,000,000. Sporadic transmission continues to occur, particularly in areas with immigrant and nomadic populations.

To determine the prevalence of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) in immunodeficient infants, we reviewed all documented cases caused by immunodeficiency-associated vaccine-derived polioviruses in Iran from 1995 through 2008. Changing to an inactivated polio vaccine vaccination schedule and introduction of screening of neonates for immunodeficiencies could reduce the risk for VAPP infection.

Measles is still one of the most common infectious killers of children in the world, especially in developing countries. In Iran, during the prevaccine era, 150,000–500,000 cases of measles were reported annually, with a death rate of 10%–15%. After the establishment of Expanded Program on Immunization program in 1984, vaccination rates for the first and second doses of measles vaccine increased to >90% by the mid-1990s, and the number of measles cases decreased to 2652 in 1996. In response to increased numbers of cases in older age groups during 1996–2002, a nationwide measles-rubella vaccination campaign was conducted in 2003, and 33,100,000 persons (99%) aged 5–25 years were vaccinated. During 2004–2009, 221 laboratory-confirmed measles cases (<1 case per million population) were detected, primarily in rural areas and among migrant groups who traveled to or came from high-incidence countries. High routine immunization coverage, low disease incidence, and surveillance system data suggest that interruption of endemic virus transmission might have already been achieved in Iran, but challenges remain and continued efforts are needed to sustain this accomplishment.