Burden of Cancer in Plateau State, Central Nigeria: A 27-Year Report from a Tertiary Hospital-Based Cancer Registry

Abstract

Cancer has become an emerging disease in the developing world owing to the control of infectious agents and increase longevity. The global anatomical distribution of cancer differs from developed to developing (or resource limited) countries. This article provides information on hospital based cancer registry in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), for the past 27 years.
 This was a descriptive retrospective study of consecutive cases of cancer analyzed at the Histopathology Department of JUTH, Jos, between January 1987 and December 2014. All records of cancer diagnosis were extracted from the departmental cancer registry which was established by the Teaching Hospital in 1987. Cases with confirmed histological diagnosis of cancers were included while those with inadequate biodata (age and sex), and anatomical site were excluded.
 A total of 6,915 cancer cases were recorded for the period of 1987-2014 comprising of 2891 males and 4024 females; giving an annual prevalence of 256 cases per annum. Top 10 cancers accounted for 74% of all cancers, while top 5 cases accounted for 55.8% of cancers. The most frequent cancers were those of the breast, cervical, prostate, lymphoma and liver cancers.
 The study showed that the most frequent cancers in JUTH are those of the breast, cervix, prostate, liver and lymphomas in decreasing order respectively. Screening should be encouraged in patients at risk to aid prevention and early detection. Allocation of resources to this end should be emphasized.

Pattern of Cancer in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital

“…Similarly, in an earlier report from the Benin Cancer Registry, located in the South Senatorial District of this state (not covered by the current study), Obaseki et al found a ratio of 1:1.5 [16]. This high preponderance of cancers in females seen in this state is consistent with findings from many states in Nigeria [8,13,[17][18][19][20][21]. The bias for the female gender can be attributed to high proportion of female breast cancer and cervical cancer among the common cancer types seen in the country.…”

Cancer Incidence in Nigeria: A Tertiary Hospital Experience

“…This was also observed in other parts of the country, namely Akwa Ibom (males-59.63;females 45.69); [5] Sokoto (males-45.77;females-43.18); [8] Abuja (Males-49.1; females-45.4); [18] and Ibadan (males-51.1; females-49.1) [18]. This may be attributed to effect of reproductive hormones which tend to influence rapid cellular proliferation and oncogenic potential at a relatively younger age [19].…”

“…The ten favored sites for cancer in descending order in this study (excluding metastatic diseases) are breast, colon and rectum, prostate, cervix, skin, ovary, stomach, lymphoid organs, thyroid and salivary gland. In some European countries and United State of America, the most common cancer in both genders is lung, breast, prostate, colorectum and urinary bladder while in West Asia and North Africa, the lung, breast, colorectum, urinary bladder, and stomach topped the list [19]. In Nigerian studies, the heterogeneity in cancer incidence is very marked although there is general agreement that prostate cancer is the most 13.7%, 14.6%, and 22.4% reported in Kano [5], Jos [6] and Akwa Ibom [7] respectively.…”

Review of Distribution of Natural Radiation in Some Parts of Nigeria

“…Many studies had been carried out on the natural radiation background of Nigeria, and these investigations are as a result of public outcry against radiation in the environment and increase the rate of cancer. A study recorded a total of 6,915 cancer cases within the year1987-2014 comprising of 2891 males and 4024 females in Plateau state [9], giving an annual prevalence of 256 cases per annum. The most frequent cancers were those of breast, cervical, prostate, lymphoma, and liver cancers.…”