Patterns of Cancer Incidence in Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos

This study aims to assess the pattern of cancer incidence in Lagos University Teaching Hospital. This is a retrospective study carried out to review all malignancies received in our department from January 2005 to December 2017. Data were collected from the archives and malignant cases were categorized based on their respective systems. These data were statistically analyzed using tables, figures, and charts. A total of 6,540 malignancies were analyzed during the study period. There was a general increase in cancer incidence over the 13 years of study. The male to female ratio was 1:2.1 for all the malignancies. The commonest cancers in this study were breast and cervical cancer among women, prostate cancer among men, and lymphoma among children. Carcinomas accounted for 86.1% of cases, sarcomas 5.7%, lymphomas 3.9%, blastomas 2.1%, melanomas 0.4%, and other histologic subtypes 2.2%. The peak age of occurrence was in the sixth decade for men, fourth for women, and under 5 for children. Cancer incidence in Lagos, Nigeria, is on the rise. Female breast cancer accounts significantly for the rise in cancer overall. The establishment of comprehensive cancer control programs for breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers is very imperative.