Cancer in Ife-Ijesha, Southwestern Nigeria: An Account of a 20- year Cancer Registration from Ife-Ijesha Cancer Registry

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cancer is increasing worldwide and particularly in the sub-Saharan Africa as shown by cancer data published by World Health Organization. Nigeria like many countries in the West African region is experiencing an increase in cancer incidence, yet there is no centre exclusively devoted to cancer care and cancer research. It is said that environmental factors play a significant role in the causation of cancer, so it is important to know the pattern of cancer distribution in a specific geographical location.In Nigeria, there seems to be a changing pattern in the trends of some cancers during the last four decades. AIM & OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to describe the pattern of cancers seen in Ife-Ijesha zone, Southwestern Nigeria as recorded in the hospital-based Ife-Ijesha cancer registry between January 1991 to December 2010. The main objective of the study is to describe the pattern of cancer seen with reference to age, sex and site. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is a retrospective study of all cases of malignant tumour recorded in the Ife-Ijesha cancer registry which is located in the Department of Morbid Anatomy & Forensic Medicine of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex Ile-Ife, Nigeria between January 1991 and December 2010. RESULTS: The total number of cancers recorded in the 20 years period that met the inclusions criteria were 6405. Out of these, 3498 (54.6%) were seen in females while 2907 (45.4%) were seen in males. Total number of malignant tumours recorded in paediatric age group was 692 (10.8%). The common malignant tumours in males in order of decreasing frequency were prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, liver cancer and soft tissue sarcoma. In females, breast cancer was on top followed by cancer of the cervix, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukaemia and soft tissue tumours. There is an increasing trend in the incidence of breast cancer, prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, cervical cancer showed a decline. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown a probable rising trend in the pattern of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma recorded in Ife-Ijesha cancer registry. On the other hand, prostate cancer and cancer of the breast remained consistently the most frequent cancer in the males and females respectively. Lung cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma that are commonly seen in the Northern and Eastern regions of Africa are rare in this study.