Cancer incidence in Abidjan, Ivory Coast - First results from the cancer registry, 1995-1997

BACKGROUND, There are few data concerning cancer incidence rates in contemp orary West Africa. The first data from the cancer registry of Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, for the period 1995-1997 are reported in the curren t study. METHODS. The cancer registry attempts to record data on all new cases of ca ncer diagnosed in the city of Abidjan, including cases without histologic c onfirmation of diagnosis. RESULTS, Two thousand eight hundred fifteen new cancer cases were registere d in 3 years, corresponding to age-standardized (world population) incidenc e rates of 83.7 per 100,000 in men and 98.6 per 100,000 in women. As report ed elsewhere in West Africa, the principal cancers in men were liver cancer (15%) and prostate cancer (15.8%), with modest rates of non-Hodgkin lympho ma (10.5%) and gastric cancer (4.5%). In women, breast cancer was the most frequent tumor (25.7%), followed by cervical cancer (24.0%) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (7.3%). In contrast to other registry data from West Africa, Kapo si sarcoma occurs with moderate frequency (7.7% of cases reported in men an d 2.1% in women). In the pediatric age group, relatively high incidence rat es were found for Burkitt lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS, Although there most likely is some underascertainment of cases , so that the actual incidence rates may be underestimated, the cancer prof ile should be a fair reflection of the true situation. In addition to tumor s that are well known to be common in sub-Saharan Africa, such as cancers o f the liver and cenix, this urban population shows some features of "Wester nization" of cancer patterns, in particular the relatively high rates of br east cancer and prostate cancer. The effects of the acquired immunodeficien cy syndrome epidemic are reflected in the moderate rates of Kaposi sarcoma reported. (C) 2000 American Cancer Society.