Gökben YASLI, Mustafa SAVAŞ, Ümit ALTINTIĞ, Ali Emre ÇETİNKOL
Medical Science and Discovery - 2026;13(9):243-252
Background and Objective: Population aging is a major driver of the increasing global cancer burden. Yet population-based evidence describing age- and sex-specific cancer incidence among older adults in Türkiye remains limited. This study examined age- and sex-specific cancer incidence among residents aged >=65 years in Izmir between 2015 and 2020. Material and Methods: This registry-based descriptive epidemiological study analyzed anonymized data from the Izmir Cancer Registry for individuals aged >=65 years. Participants were stratified by sex and age group (65 -69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, and >=85 years). We obtained population denominators from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). We calculated age-specific incidence rates per 100.000 population using cumulative incident cases and cumulative annual population denominators for the 2015-2020 study period. We also compared annual incidence rates in 2020 with the corresponding mean rates for 2015-2019 for major cancer sites. Results: Among men. Overall cancer incidence peaked at ages 75 -79 (2531.0 per 100.000). remained high at ages 80 -84 (2523.5). and declined at ages >=85 (2299.8). Lung. prostate. colorectal. and bladder cancers were the most common malignancies. Among women. overall cancer incidence was highest at ages 80-84 (1167.5 per 100.000). Breast cancer remained the leading malignancy across all age groups. Compared with the 2015-2019 mean annual incidence. rates in 2020 decreased by 25.0% for lung cancer. 41.0% for prostate cancer. and 24.3% for colorectal cancer among men. and by 24.8% for breast cancer and 28.0% for colorectal cancer among women. These reductions may reflect disruptions in cancer detection and registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: This study demonstrates distinct age- and sex-specific cancer incidence patterns among older adults in Türkiye and a substantial decline in recorded incidence for several major cancers in 2020. The findings may inform cancer prevention strategies. Screening policies. and healthcare planning for Türkiye's rapidly aging population.
