Lung cancer at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

A 30-year retrospective review of cases of lung cancer from the Cancer Registry of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria was carried out. A total of 142 cases were analysed with a male:female ratio of 1.7:1. Peak age incidence in females was 2 decades (4th) earlier than for males. Squamous cell carcinoma was found most commonly but adenocarcinoma predominated in females. Mucoepidermoid and adenoidcystic carcinomas were absent. About 27% of patients were under 40 years old and the majority of these (82%) showed histological variants which are associated with the bad prognosis (i.e. anaplastic carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell tumours and sarcomas. At autopsy regional lymph nodes were found to be most commonly involved by secondary metastases while the spinal cord was least involved. The epidemiology of malignant lung tumours in Ibadan probably differs from that in the more industrialized countries and this suggests a different view of risk factors for this environment. Additionally there is an urgent need for developing methods for earlier diagnosis if the mortality associated with this disease is to be reduced especially as it occurs predominantly in young people.