Lung cancer in Malawi: experience of bronchoscopy in Zomba General Hospital

In 1987, 11 cases of primary lung cancer were diagnosed on fibreoptic bronchoscopy and six patients were found to have clinical and radiological signs of lung malignancy. 12 of these patients were from Zomba district. This gives an estimated annual incidence of diagnosed lung cancer for Zomba of nearly 3 in 100,000. This figure is most probably an underestimate. Lung cancer was known to be rare in Malawi until 1980. If the actual incidence of this malignancy in Zomba can be applied to the rest of the country, it may be concluded that primary lung cancer is more common in Malawi than previously thought.