Table 1.
Cancer publications from selected Arab countries between 2000–2013 by research design and country (N = 1,773)
| Research design | n (%) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | Iraq | Kuwait | Lebanon | Morocco | Palestine | Sudan | Total | |
| Descriptive | ||||||||
| Case reports | 12 (32.4) | 8 (7.8) | 79 (23.4) | 116 (25.8) | 396 (54.8) | 1 (3.4) | 4 (4.3) | 616 (34.8) |
| Case series | 0 (0.0) | 6 (5.8) | 9 (2.7) | 15 (3.3) | 88 (12.2) | 0 (0.0) | 13 (13.8) | 131 (7.4) |
| Cross-sectional/correlational studies | 5 (13.5) | 19 (18.4) | 29 (8.6) | 28 (6.2) | 38 (5.2) | 4 (13.8) | 33 (35.1) | 156 (8.8) |
| Analytical | ||||||||
| Case-control studies | 1 (2.7) | 11 (10.7) | 17 (5.0) | 13 (2.9) | 26 (3.6) | 1 (3.4) | 16 (17.0) | 85 (4.8) |
| Cohort studies | 6 (16.2) | 17 (16.5) | 49 (14.5) | 53 (11.8) | 64 (8.9) | 3 (10.3) | 2 (2.1) | 194 (11.0) |
| RCTs | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.9) | 12 (3.6) | 24 (5.3) | 3 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (2.1) | 43 (2.4) |
| Reviews | ||||||||
| Systematic reviews/meta-analyses | 1 (2.7) | 3 (2.9) | 2 (0.6) | 9 (2.0) | 5 (0.7) | 3 (10.3) | 0 (0.0) | 23 (1.3) |
| Descriptive literature reviews | 9 (24.3) | 4 (3.9) | 42 (12.5) | 90 (20.0) | 39 (5.4) | 4 (13.8) | 12 (12.8) | 200 (11.3) |
| Laboratory studies | ||||||||
| Pathology/in vivo studies | 3 (8.1) | 27 (26.2) | 94 (27.9) | 80 (17.8) | 49 (6.8) | 12 (41.4) | 10 (10.6) | 275 (15.5) |
| Other | ||||||||
| Commentaries/letters to the editor | 0 (0.0) | 6 (5.8) | 4 (1.2) | 14 (3.1) | 9 (1.2) | 1 (3.4) | 2 (2.1) | 36 (2.0) |
| Qualitative and/or mixed methods studies | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (1.6) | 5 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 12 (0.7) |
| Total | 37 (2.1) | 103 (5.8) | 337 (19.0) | 449 (25.4) | 722 (40.8) | 29 (1.6) | 94 (5.3) | 1,771* |
RCT = randomised control trial.
*
Study design was not specified in two publications (one from Morocco and one from Sudan).