Background:
The Enugu Cancer Registry (ECR) was established in 1988 as a hospital-based cancer registry in one of the oldest tertiary hospitals in Nigeria - the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu. The registry became a member of the Nigerian National System of Cancer Registries (NSCR) in 2009 and became population-based in 2012. ECR covers a population of 1,103,153 people.
Aim:
To describe the pattern of cancers in South Eastern Nigeria reported by the ECR in 2012-2013.
Methods:
Data was collected and entered into CanReg5, checked for any errors including duplicates, which were excluded. All pending cases were rechecked and confirmed. CanReg5 was used to generate age standardized incidence rates by sex and by age group.
Results:
There were a total of 1738 cases of cancer over the 2 year period 2012-2013. Of these, 1072 (62%) were in females and 666 (38%) was seen in males. The age standardized incidence rate (ASR) for all cancers in females was 141.9 per 100,000 and in males the ASR was 86.1 per 100,000. The most common cancers reported in women were cancers of the breast (466 cases, ASR = 60.3 per 100,000), cervix (146 cases, ASR = 22.6 per 100,000) and ovary (43 cases, ASR = 5.5 per 100,000). In men the commonest cancers were those of the prostate (232 cases, ASR = 33.9 per 100,000), colo-rectum, (55 cases, ASR = 7.1 per 100,000) and liver (27 cases, ASR = 3.3 per 100,000).
Conclusions:
Breast and cervical cancer are the most common cancers in women reported in south-eastern Nigeria, similar to reports from other parts of Nigeria. Prostate and colorectal cancers are the most frequent among men in the region. The most common cancers and ASRs are similar to our previous published findings from older population based cancer registries in Nigeria.