Every environment is noted for its variability in incidences of various malignancies and subtypes. The objective of this study is to analyze the trend of malignant tumors in a population of rural Africans attending Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, Nigeria with particular emphasis on the first ten most frequently diagnosed cancers over a period of 14 consecutive years (2001-2014).

Histologically diagnosed cancers in the various cancer registries of the ABUTH Zaria were included in this study. The ten most commonly presenting cancers were extracted and their demographic characteristics and other relevant clinical data documented using a standardized questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0.

There were 6,553 histologically diagnosed cancers over 14 years in Ahmadu Bello Unibersity Teaching Hospital Zaria with the following in descending order: Cervical cancer 1042 (15.90%), Breast cancer 788 (12.02%), Prostate cancer 496 (7.56%), Colorectal cancer 360 (5.49%), Lymphoma 306 (4.66%), Eye/orbit cancer 170 (2.59%), Bladder cancer 169 (2.45%), Nasopharyngeal cancer 139 (2.12%), Ovarian cancers 94 (1.43%), and Liver cancer 52 (0.79%).

Cervical cancer tops the list as the most frequently diagnosed cancer however, this should be noted that it is a cancer exclusive to females so also breast cancers though rarely males may present with breast cancer. Prostate cancer is a male exclusive disease therefore the percentage would have been higher if the diagnosis would have excluded the females. Of the ten most frequently diagnosed cancers, liver cancer is the tenth despite the fact that complications of viral hepatitidis are known to facilitate liver carcinogenesis and the prevalence of hepatitis C and B in the Nigerian population is 5 and 20 respectively.

Citation Format: Abdulmumini Hassan Rafindadi, Surajo Mohammed Aminu, Mohammed Faruk, Yawale Iliyasu, Abdullahi Mohammed, Sani Ibrahim, Ahmed Adamu, Mohammed Sani Shehu, Abdullahi Jubril Randawa, Adamu Abdullahi, Saad Aliyu Ahmed, Maitama Yusuf Hussaini, Danladi Amodu Ameh, Ukwenya Yahaya, John Idoko, Oguntayo Olanrewaju Adekunle, Almustapha Aliyu Liman, Abdulkadir Lawal Rafindadi, Aisha Maude Suleiman, Jigo Dangude Yaro, Ahmad Bello, Bello Kumo. First ten malignancies by ranking from a population of rural Africans in Zaria, Nigeria: A fourteen years review and report. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B71.