Cancer distribution pattern in south-western Nigeria

The burden of cancer in Nigeria is appreciable with about 100,000 new cancer cases being reported in the country each year. This study aimed to determine the level of occurrence and pattern of distribution of different cancer types in two major functional cancer registries in south-western Nigeria. A desk review of the level of occurrence and pattern of distribution of different cancer types in Lagos and Ibadan cancer registries over a 5 year period (2005-2009) was carried out. The results obtained showed a total number of 5094 cancer patients registered between 2005 and 2009 in both Lagos (60%) and Ibadan (40%) cancer registries. Breast cancer accounted for the majority of cases (20.2%), followed by cervical cancer (7.9 %), fibroid (4.4%), liver (4.4%), stomach (4.3%), brain (3.9%), pancreas (3.8%), prostate (3.3%), lung (3.0%) and cancer of the kidney (0.7%). There were significant differences (P≤0.05) in the level of occurrence between cancers of the breast, cervix, prostate, liver, ovary and all other cancers. Liver cancer (147; 77) and bone cancer (91; 37) were predominant in females than males while lung cancer (89; 65), stomach cancer (112; 109), and kidney cancer (24; 14) were predominant in males than females. In conclusion, the findings of this study provide insights to cancer epidemiology in the western region of Nigeria. This study confirms earlier findings that breast, prostate, liver and cervical cancers account for the majority of cases of cancers in Nigeria. Thus, there is need to organize on a wider scale suitable methods for early detection of these diseases.