The distribution of cancer cases in Somalia

Publication date: Available online 18 October 2017
Source:Seminars in Oncology
Author(s): Yılmaz Baş, Hussein Abshir Hassan, Cevdet Adıgüzel, Oktay Bulur, İkram Abdikarim Ibrahim, Seçil Soydan
ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and distribution of cancer cases in a defined time period in Somalia.Material and MethodsA total of 403 cancer cases were diagnosed between January 01, 2016 and March 01, 2017 in the Department of Pathology at the Somalia Mogadishu–Turkey Education and Research Hospital or the Department of Oncology at Uniso Hospital, Somalia University. Data on cancer type, patient age, and gender were obtained from pathology reports and hospital records.Results49.6% of patients were female (n = 200) and 50.4% were male (n = 203). The youngest patient was 18, the oldest was 97, and the average age was 53.4 years. The 10 most common types of cancer were esophageal (n = 130, 32.3%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 35, 8.7%), liver (n = 26, 6.5%), breast (n = 24, 6.0%), skin (n = 17, 4.2%), thyroid (n = 13, 3.2%), brain (n = 12, 3.0%), bone (n = 11, 2.7%), colorectal (n = 11, 2.7%), and soft tissue (n = 11, 2.7%). The most common site of cancer in males and females was the esophagus.ConclusionThese results show a high incidence of esophageal cancer in Somalia, and strongly suggest that environmental risk factors and nutritional habits have a strong impact in this population. Serious and extensive research on the etiology of esophageal cancer is required.



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