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.