Cancer in Cross River State

Aims: To determine the prevalence of cancer in the rest of Cross River State not covered by the population-based cancer registry which is limited to the capital city of Calabar.

Study Design: Descriptive retrospective study involving a trend analysis of cancers from the rest of Cross River State not covered by the Calabar cancer registry. Cancers incident in the Pathology and Haematology departments of the University of Calabar Teaching hospital are included in the study.

Place and Duration of Study: Pathology and Haematology departments of the University of Calabar Teaching hospital. Data was assessed between April to May 2019.

Methodology: An institution-based trend analysis of cancers originating from the rest of Cross River State, out of population-based cancer registry’s coverage was carried out. Such cases incident in the Pathology and Hematology Departments of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital were included. Cancer data from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2013 was accessed from the archives of both departments. Data extraction was carried out though filling of a check list and these were fed into IBM statistical package for social sciences SPSS version 21 for analysis.

Results: Nine hundred and fourty one (941), cancer cases were diagnosed during this period. The mean age of diagnosis was 49.18 ± 18.9.Four hundred and seventy seven (477 or 50.69%) females and 464 or 49.31% males had cancer, representing a female to male ratio 0.97: 1. Overall, the commonest age group was 40 to 64 years (46.3%), followed by 18 to 39 years (25.5%), and 65 years or greater (23.0%).Breast cancer followed by prostate cancer were the commonest cancers in adults, while cancers in the lymphohaematopoietic tissue, soft tissue and eye were the commonest in children.

Conclusion: Cancer occurs at an earlier age in the rest of Cross River State, with breast and prostatic cancer dominating. Efforts should be doubled to institute effective screening programmes.