Geographical distribution of Burkitt's lymphoma in Nigeria

Eight hundred and eighty cases of Burkitt's lymphoma recorded in the Cancer Registry, University College Hospital (U.C.H.) Ibadan during a fifteen-year period (1961-1975) were reviewed. The geographical locations ascertained represent 87 cities or towns. No case of Burkitt's lymphoma has been reported from areas above latitude 11 degrees north of the equator which are essentially desert areas. There is no explanation for the yearly and monthly variations in the number of cases reported. A case-detection programme probably will give a true picture of the geographical distribution of the disease including possible 'clustering of cases in space and time'.