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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1380615
This article is part of the Research Topic Advancing Collaborative Efforts in Cancer Research: A Convening of North-Eastern Nigeria Universities and International Health Systems on Etiology, Care, and Outcomes View all 3 articles

Emerging Cancer Disease Burden in a Rural Sub-Saharan African population: Northeast Nigeria in Focus

Provisionally accepted
Uchenna S. Ezenkwa Uchenna S. Ezenkwa 1,2*Aliyu I. Lawan Aliyu I. Lawan 3,4Musa A. Garbati Musa A. Garbati 5Dauda SULEIMAN Dauda SULEIMAN 6Dauda A. Katagum Dauda A. Katagum 7,8Abba Kabir Abba Kabir 9Adamu I. Adamu Adamu I. Adamu 10Modu A. Kolomi Modu A. Kolomi 11Olaniyi D. Olanrewaju Olaniyi D. Olanrewaju 12,13Rufai A. Dachi Rufai A. Dachi 14Yusuf M. Abdullahi Yusuf M. Abdullahi 3,4Muhammed Alkali Muhammed Alkali 15Danladi A. Bojude Danladi A. Bojude 16,17Hadiza A. Usman Hadiza A. Usman 18Ayodele Omotoso Ayodele Omotoso 19Matthew Schlumbrecht Matthew Schlumbrecht 19Sophia George Sophia George 19Bala M. Audu Bala M. Audu 7
  • 1 Department of Histopathology, Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 2 Department of Pathology, Federal Medical Centre, Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 3 Department of Histopathology, Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Gombe, Nigeria
  • 4 Department of Histopathology, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria
  • 5 Directorate of Research, Innovation and Development, Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 6 Department of Histopathology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, Bauchi, Nigeria
  • 7 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 8 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Federal Medical Centre, Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 9 Department of Histopathology, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno, Nigeria
  • 10 Department of Histopathology, Yobe State University Teaching Hospital, Damaturu, Nigeria
  • 11 Department of Histopathology, Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Yobe State, Nigeria
  • 12 Department of Haematology, Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 13 Federal Medical Centre, Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 14 Department of Hematology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, Bauchi, Nigeria
  • 15 Department of Medicine, Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Azare, Nigeria
  • 16 Community oncology and Epidemiology, Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Gombe, Nigeria
  • 17 Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria
  • 18 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Yobe State, Nigeria
  • 19 Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System, Miami, Florida, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is plagued by myriads of diseases, mostly infectious; but cancer disease burden is rising among non-communicable diseases. Nigeria has a high burden of cancer, but its remote underserved culturally-conserved populations have been understudied, a gap this study sought to fill. Methods: This was a cross-sectional multiinstitutional descriptive study of histologically diagnosed cancers over a four-year period (January 2019-December 2022) archived in the Departments of Pathology and Cancer Registries of six tertiary hospitals in the northeast of Nigeria. Data obtained included age at diagnosis, gender, tumour site and available cancer care infrastructure. Population data of the study region and its demographics was obtained from the National Population Commission and used to calculate incident rates for the population studied. Results: A total of 4,681 incident cancer cases were identified comprised of 2,770 females and 1,911 males. The median age at diagnosis for women was 45 years (range 1-95yrs), and 56 years (range 1-99yrs) for. Observed agespecific incidence rates (ASR) increased steadily for both genders reaching peaks in the age group 80 years and above with the highest ASR seen among males (321/100,000 persons) compared to females (215.5/100,000 persons). Breast, cervical, prostatic, colorectal and skin cancers were the five most common incident cancers. In females, breast, cervical, skin, ovarian and colorectal cancers were the top five malignancies; while prostate, haematolymphoid, skin, colorectal and urinary bladder cancers predominated in men. Conclusion: Remote SSA communities are witnessing rising cancer disease burden. Proactive control programs inclusive of advocacy, vaccination, screening, and improved diagnostics are needed.

    Keywords: Cancer burden, Age-specific rate, Northeast Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa, Cancer care disparity

    Received: 01 Feb 2024; Accepted: 26 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ezenkwa, Lawan, Garbati, SULEIMAN, Katagum, Kabir, Adamu, Kolomi, Olanrewaju, Dachi, Abdullahi, Alkali, Bojude, Usman, Omotoso, Schlumbrecht, George and Audu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Uchenna S. Ezenkwa, Department of Histopathology, Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Azare, Nigeria

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