Epidemiological and Pathologic Characteristics of Cancer Morbidity in Elderly Nigerians: A Call for Action

Abstract

Objective: Geriatric cancer is a major public health problem with increasing incidence due to population growth and ageing.This study hopes to analyze the epidemiology and pathology of geriatric cancer in a Nigerian tertiary healthcare center. Method: The study is a ten-year (2010-2019) descriptive retrospective study of histopathologically confirmed geriatric cancer cases in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The age, gender, anatomic site and histological diagnosis were used for the study. Analysis was with Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and results summarized in tables and figures. Result: Geriatric cancer accounted for 33.7% of all cancers, affecting 871 males and 593 females with mean age and age range of 70.4 and 60-101 years respectively. Cases in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 were 7.9%, 10.5%, 10.7%, 11.3%, 7.0%, 8.5%, 8.55%, 10.5%, 11.8% and 12.4% respectively. Exactly 26.0%, 25.4%, 19.1%, 15.0%, 9.0%, 3.2%, 1.3%, 0.8%, and 0.2% of cancer cases were encountered among the 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, 95-99 and 100-104 years age groups respectively. Prostate, cervical, breast, colorectal and gastric cancer accounted for 41.3%, 12.3%, 12.3%, 5.8% and 3.1% of the cases respectively. Conclusion: Geriatric cancer incidence is on the increase with male predominance and a peak at 60-64 years. About 75% of geriatric cancer affected the prostate, uterine cervix, breast, stomach and colorectum. Geriatric cancer care is still a low priority in Nigeria. A stronger health and social system is desirable for the worsening geriatric cancer burden in this region.

Keywords

• elderly, gender, cancer, histopathology, nigeria