The Pattern of Cancer in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

This study on the pattern of cancer in Kampala is based on data collected from 2246 patients at Mulago Hospital and 355 patients at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya, between January 1995 and December 1998. All diagnoses were histologically confirmed. Of these 2601 patients, 1225 were males and 1376 were females. Kaposi's Sarcoma was the commonest malignancy, accounting for 28.6% of all cancers. Among males, Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) was the most common cancer (37.1°/o) followed by prostatic cancer(9.60/0), lymphomas (8.5%), oesophageal cancer (7.0°/o), eye malignancies (3.8%) and pharyngeal cancer (3.8%). In females, the order of frequency of malignancies was cervical cancer (22.200), Kaposi's Sarcoma (21.1°/0), breast cancer (10.9%), lymphoma (5.9%), oesophageal cancer (4.6%) and eye malignancies (3.60/0). The incidence of KS has dramatically increased from 6.3% in males and 0.4% in females among patients with cancer diagnosed in 1977-80, before HIV infection was recognized. This paper compares the cancer patterns of 1995-98 with those of 1977-80 and discusses the possible influence of HIV infection on the change of patterns of cancer in Uganda.