Established in 1996, the MECC is a unique partnership between the United States and the Ministries of Health of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Turkey. The objective of the MECC is to reduce the incidence and impact of cancer in the Middle East through the solicitation and support of collaborative research. Since its inception, MECC’s major activities have been the Cancer Registry Project (CRP) and the Small Grants Programme. The CRP aims to support population-based cancer registries within MECC members and develop linkages among them.

Egypt has established the Gharbiah Population-Based Cancer Registry (GPCR). Active registration covers the entire Gharbiah Governorate.