CANCER IN KAMPALA, UGANDA, IN 1989-91 - CHANGES IN INCIDENCE IN THE ERA OF AIDS

Re-establishment of the cancer registry in Kyadondo County, Uganda has allowed estimation of incidence rates for the period September 1989 t o December 199 1. The results are compared with earlier data from the same area, and from other African cancer registries. The most striking feature is the emergence of Kaposi's sarcoma as the leading cancer in males (almost half of all registered cases) and the second most frequ ent (17.9%) in females. This parallels the evolution of the epidemic o f AIDS. There were also marked increases in the incidence of both oeso phageal and prostatic carcinoma, while the incidence of cancer of the penis and the urinary bladder declined, possibly as a result of improv ed standards of hygiene. In females, the incidence of cancer of the ce rvix has more than doubled since the 1950s, and is now among the highe st recorded in the African continent.