Bahrain Records Over 1,400 Cancer Cases and 4,500 Dialysis Patients

More than 1,400 cancer cases were logged in Bahrain in 2024, and 4,547 dialysis patients were registered in the same year, the Ministry of Health has told Parliament in a written reply to MP Jalal Kadhem.The ministry said the National Cancer Registry counted 1,230 cases among Bahrainis in 2024 and 171 among non-Bahrainis. For kidney failure, it said 4,547 patients were registered for dialysis during the year, including 4,298 Bahrainis and 249 non-Bahrainis.

The figures show cancer diagnoses among Bahrainis were concentrated in older age groups. Bahraini men accounted for 535 cases, with the highest numbers in the 65–69 and 70–74 brackets. Bahraini women recorded 695 cases, with the largest counts in the 60–64 and 65–69 brackets. Among non-Bahrainis, the ministry recorded 78 cases in men and 93 in women, mostly aged 40–64.

The ministry also listed the stage of disease for registered cancer cases in 2024. It said 50.68 per cent were recorded as localised, meaning the cancer was limited to the original organ. Distant metastasis accounted for 12.67 per cent. Another 12.53 per cent were recorded as “unknown”, which the ministry said meant the stage at first diagnosis, before treatment began, was not known. A further 7.42 per cent were recorded as “not applicable”, such as leukaemia.

On dialysis, the ministry said Bahraini men were the largest group, at 2,720 patients, compared with 1,578 Bahraini women. Non-Bahraini dialysis patients totalled 249, including 95 men and 154 women.Dialysis services are delivered at the unit at Salmaniya Medical Complex and the Abdulrahman Kanoo Dialysis Centre, the ministry said. It reported 47,064 visits by kidney patients in 2024, including dialysis sessions. Of those, 44,976 visits were by Bahrainis and 2,088 by non-Bahrainis, by nationality and sex.

It said care for cancer and kidney failure is delivered through primary healthcare centres, government hospitals, the Bahrain Oncology Centre and dialysis units, with cases treated within the government system under current protocols.

Where a patient needs specialist care not available in Bahrain, the ministry said they can be referred abroad under clear medical criteria. In 2024, it said 163 oncology cases were sent abroad. Saudi Arabia received 58 cases, Jordan 44 and Turkey 42, while 10 cases went to Germany, five to India, two to the United Kingdom, and one each to Thailand and Kuwait.

The ministry did not give a separate budget figure for cancer and kidney failure care, saying spending sits within the budget for treatment abroad, subject to the Higher Committee for Treatment Abroad.

The reply also gave death figures for 2024. The ministry said 525 deaths were from cancer, including 467 among Bahrainis and 58 among non-Bahrainis. It recorded 65 deaths from kidney failure, including 56 among Bahrainis and nine among non-Bahrainis.

On prevention and early detection, the ministry said it has a cancer prevention and control plan linked to wider work on non-communicable diseases and related risk factors. It cited public awareness campaigns on tobacco use, healthy eating and exercise, and said primary care centres run screening for breast, cervical, prostate and colorectal cancers, with suspected cases referred for further tests and treatment planning.

For kidney disease, it said primary care centres keep close watch on higher-risk groups, especially patients with diabetes and high blood pressure, through periodic laboratory tests under approved protocols, with referral to kidney specialists when results suggest impaired function.

The ministry also pointed to vaccination as part of prevention, citing HPV and hepatitis B vaccination as measures that reduce the risk of some cancers. It added that public health teams oversee food safety and product checks using Gulf standards and relevant international references, and monitor goods entering through border points alongside other bodies responsible for national technical rules.

On cancer risk factors, the ministry cited tobacco use, unhealthy diets, obesity, certain infections such as HPV and hepatitis B, genetic factors and changes in cells, including DNA mutations, as among the common factors linked to adult cancers.