Epidemiological Survey of Malignant Neoplasms in Sokoto, Nigeria

Saddiku M Sahabi, Kabiru Abdullahi

Background:There is an increasing trend in the incidence of cancers in developing countries without commensurate data on the pattern and spread of individual tumour variant or sites of predilection. This study aims to provide current data on the frequency, histological types and characteristics of histopathologically confirmed cancers in Sokoto, North West Nigeria. Material and methods: A descriptive 10 years (2006-2015) analysis of all diagnosed cancers in the Department of Histopathology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. Archives of all histology reports, tissue slides and paraffin blocks of patients’ biopsies that had been stored were studied. The data were analyzed for age, sex and histological types classified using the diagnostic criteria provided by the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) Result: A total of 3933 cancer patients were registered at the histopathology department of UDUTH during the ten-year period. There were more female cancers (n=2260 57.5%) compared to male cancers (n=1673, 42.5%). The overall mean age was 44.28years, median age 45.0years, modal age 50years and SD 18.69. Males (mean age 45.77, median age in male 50.0, modal age 60 and SD was 21.03) were significantly older than females (mean age 43.18, median age 45.0, modal age 50, and SD was 16.67) year. The Adult cancers accounted for 90.9% (n = 3575) and childhood cancers accounted for 9.1% (n= 358). Overall, the ten most common sites of cancer involvement were the breast 763(19.4%), cervix 312(7.9%), prostate 267(6.8%), lymph node 248(6.3%), bladder 191(4.9%), skin 225(3.6%), rectum 114(2.9%), ovary 110(2.8%), eye 97(2.5%) and soft tissue 95(2.4). In males, the most frequent cancer sites were the prostate 267(16.00%), bladder 160(9.60%), skin 138(8.20%) nasopharynx 87(5.2%), lymph node 85(5.10%) and rectum 61(3.60%) while in females, the most common sites were the breast 731(731%), cervix 302(13.40%), lymph node 163(7.20%), ovary 110(4.90%), skin 87(3.80%) and endometrial 61(2.70%). Conclusion: There is significant difference in the pattern of cancer distribution amongst males and females in Sokoto and the cancer burden is highest in young to middle aged adults. The breast, prostate, lymph node, skin and bladder cancers were the most frequent in our setting. This study provides useful Information, a baseline data on cancer distribution in our environment and also serves as a guide for health intervention measures and future research.