Israel has the highest rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in the world , and holds the second place in the disease's mortality rate, according to figures released by the Israel Cancer Association (ICA) and Health Ministry on World Cancer Day, which was marked February 4.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The data refer to the year 2012, during which 1,304 new NHL patients were diagnosed in Israel. Israel has 18.1 lymphoma patients per 100,000 men and 14.6 patients per 100,000 women.

Prof. Ora Paltiel, a Hematology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, believes the alarming figures can be explained by a genetic component: "Studies show that Jews are at a higher risk of contracting the diseases," she says.

"The second component is pesticides. Because Israel is a very small country with no separation between agricultural and non-agricultural areas, there is a higher exposure to pesticides."

Among Jewish men, there are 15.7 lymphoma patients per 100,000 compared to 12.4 in 1990. Among Jewish women, there are 11.8 lymphoma patients compared to 11.3 in 1990.

Among Arab women, there are 10 lymphoma patients per 100,000 compared to 6.7 in 1990. The number of lymphoma patients among Arab men slightly dropped from 10.8 in 1990 to 10.4 in 2012.

A total of 25,531 new cancer patients were diagnosed in Israel in 2012, and 10,640 died from the disease that year. According to the figures, one in three Israelis will get cancer during their lifetime.

"There are more than 200,000 people living in Israel who have been diagnosed with cancer," says ICA Director-General Miri Ziv. "The frequency rises with age, but the mortality rate is decreasing thanks to early detection and improved treatment."

The most common type of cancer among Israeli men is prostate cancer, and the most common type among Israeli women is breast cancer, which is also the most fatal type of cancer among women. The most fatal type of cancer among men is lung cancer.