Pattern of childhood malignant tumours in two tertiary teaching hospitals in Nigeria: comparative study

Background: Cancer is a public health problem worldwide affecting all categories of persons. It is the second common cause of death in developed countries and among the three leading causes of death in developing countries. Objective: To compare the patterns of malignant childhood tumours in two tertiary hospitals in the north- Western and South western Nigeria. Methods: Retrospective studies of childhood malignancies diagnosed at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC) (Ife Hospital Unit, Ile-Ife and Wesley Guild Hospital Unit, Ilesa, Osun state) were undertaken from January, 2001 to December, 2010. The patterns of childhood cancers in these hospitals were compared. Results: Four hundred and ten children aged 7 months to 15 years were admitted at AKTH with malignancies of which 236 were males and 174 females with male to female ratio of 1.4:1. At OAUTHC, 568 children aged two months to 15 years were admitted with malignancies over the ten year period. There were 401 males and 167 females, with male to female ratio of 2.4:1. Lymphomas were the commonest type of malignancy in both centers, which accounted for 47.3% and 59.7% at AKTH and OAUTHC respectively. Retinoblastoma was the second commonest tumour at AKTH constituting 14.9% of all malignancies followed by nephroblastoma and acute leukemias. In contrast, acute leukemias were the second commonest malignancy at OAUTHC accounting for 12.7% of all malignancies followed by retinoblastoma and nephroblastoma. Tumours of central nervous system were observed to be commoner at AKTH, while bone tumours were commoner at OAUTHC. Conclusion: The pattern of childhood cancer varies rather little between different regions in Nigeria, with malignant lymphomas being the most common as is the case in most developing countries. However, the findings in this study suggest that there is variation in prevalence of leukemia, CNS and bone tumours in northern and southern Nigeria.