Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 2000 Apr 3;82(9):1585–1592. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.1999.1071

Trends in cancer incidence in Kyadondo County, Uganda, 1960–1997

H R Wabinga 1, D M Parkin 2, F Wabwire-Mangen 3, S Nambooze 1
PMCID: PMC2363394  PMID: 10789729

Abstract

Incidence rates of different cancers have been calculated for the population of Kyadondo County (Kampala, Uganda) for four time periods (1960–1966; 1967–1971; 1991–1994; 1995–1997), spanning 38 years in total. The period coincides with marked social and lifestyle changes and with the emergence of the AIDS epidemic. Most cancers have increased in incidence over time, the only exceptions being cancers of the bladder and penis. Apart from these, the most common cancers in the early years were cervix, oesophagus and liver; all three have remained common, with the first two showing quite marked increases in incidence, as have cancers of the breast and prostate. These changes have been overshadowed by the dramatic effects of the AIDS epidemic, with Kaposi's sarcoma emerging as the most common cancer in both sexes in the 1990s, and a large increase in incidence of squamous cell cancers of the conjunctiva. In the most recent period, there also seems to have been an increase in the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. So far, lung cancer remains rare. Cancer control in Uganda, as elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, faces a threefold challenge. With little improvement in the incidence of cancers associated with infection and poverty (liver, cervix, oesophagus), it must face the burden of AIDS-associated cancers, while coping with the emergence of cancers associated with Westernization of lifestyles (large bowel, breast and prostate). © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: cancer registry, time trends, Africa, AIDS

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (116.7 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alpert M. E., Hutt M. S., Wogan G. N., Davidson C. S. Association between aflatoxin content of food and hepatoma frequency in Uganda. Cancer. 1971 Jul;28(1):253–260. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197107)28:1<253::aid-cncr2820280151>3.0.co;2-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ateenyi-Agaba C. Conjunctival squamous-cell carcinoma associated with HIV infection in Kampala, Uganda. Lancet. 1995 Mar 18;345(8951):695–696. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)90870-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bosch F. X., Manos M. M., Muñoz N., Sherman M., Jansen A. M., Peto J., Schiffman M. H., Moreno V., Kurman R., Shah K. V. Prevalence of human papillomavirus in cervical cancer: a worldwide perspective. International biological study on cervical cancer (IBSCC) Study Group. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Jun 7;87(11):796–802. doi: 10.1093/jnci/87.11.796. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Boyle P., Parkin D. M. Cancer registration: principles and methods. Statistical methods for registries. IARC Sci Publ. 1991;(95):126–158. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bradley D. J., Sturrock R. F., Williams P. N. The circumstantial epidemiology of Schistosoma haematobium in Lango district, Uganda. East Afr Med J. 1967 May;44(5):193–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Burkitt D. P. Epidemiology of cancer of the colon and rectum. Cancer. 1971 Jul;28(1):3–13. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197107)28:1<3::aid-cncr2820280104>3.0.co;2-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chang Y., Ziegler J., Wabinga H., Katangole-Mbidde E., Boshoff C., Schulz T., Whitby D., Maddalena D., Jaffe H. W., Weiss R. A. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and Kaposi's sarcoma in Africa. Uganda Kaposi's Sarcoma Study Group. Arch Intern Med. 1996 Jan 22;156(2):202–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cook P. Cancer of the oesophagus in Africa. A summary and evaluation of the evidence for the frequency of occurrence, and a preliminary indication of the possible association with the consumption of alcoholic drinks made from maize. Br J Cancer. 1971 Dec;25(4):853–880. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1971.99. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. DAVIES J. N., ELMES S., HUTT M. S., MTIMAVALYE L. A., OWOR R., SHAPER L. CANCER IN AN AFRICAN COMMUNITY, 1897--1956. AN ANALYSIS OF THE RECORDS OF MENGO HOSPITAL, KAMPALA, UGANDA. I. Br Med J. 1964 Feb 1;1(5378):259–264. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5378.259. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. DAVIES J. N., WILSON B. A., KNOWELDEN J. Cancer incidence of the African population of Kyadondo (Uganda). Lancet. 1962 Aug 18;2(7251):328–330. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(62)90111-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. DODGE O. G. TUMORS OF THE BLADDER AND URETHRA ASSOCIATED WITH URINARY RETENTION IN UGANDA AFRICANS. Cancer. 1964 Nov;17:1433–1436. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(196411)17:11<1433::aid-cncr2820171110>3.0.co;2-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Davies J. N., Knowelden J., Wilson B. A. Incidence rates of cancer in Kyandondo County, Uganda, 1954-1960. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1965 Nov;35(5):789–821. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gao S. J., Kingsley L., Li M., Zheng W., Parravicini C., Ziegler J., Newton R., Rinaldo C. R., Saah A., Phair J. KSHV antibodies among Americans, Italians and Ugandans with and without Kaposi's sarcoma. Nat Med. 1996 Aug;2(8):925–928. doi: 10.1038/nm0896-925. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Jaskiewicz K. Oesophageal carcinoma: cytopathology and nutritional aspects in aetiology. Anticancer Res. 1989 Nov-Dec;9(6):1847–1852. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kyalwazi S. K. Carcinoma of the penis. A review of 153 patients admitted to Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. East Afr Med J. 1966 Oct;43(10):415–425. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Newton R. A review of the aetiology of squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva. Br J Cancer. 1996 Nov;74(10):1511–1513. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.581. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Owor R. Carcinoma of bladder and urethra in patients with urethral strictures. East Afr Med J. 1975 Jan;52(1):12–18. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Segal I., Reinach S. G., de Beer M. Factors associated with oesophageal cancer in Soweto, South Africa. Br J Cancer. 1988 Nov;58(5):681–686. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1988.286. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Simpson G. R., Schulz T. F., Whitby D., Cook P. M., Boshoff C., Rainbow L., Howard M. R., Gao S. J., Bohenzky R. A., Simmonds P. Prevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus infection measured by antibodies to recombinant capsid protein and latent immunofluorescence antigen. Lancet. 1996 Oct 26;348(9035):1133–1138. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07560-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Taylor J. F., Templeton A. C., Vogel C. L., Ziegler J. L., Kyalwazi S. K. Kaposi's sarcoma in Uganda: a clinico-pathological study. Int J Cancer. 1971 Jul 15;8(1):122–135. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910080116. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Templeton A. C., Buxton E., Bianchi A. Cancer in Kyadondo County, Uganda, 1968-70. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1972 Apr;48(4):865–874. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Templeton A. C. Kaposi's sarcoma. Pathol Annu. 1981;16(Pt 2):315–336. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Van Rensburg S. J., Bradshaw E. S., Bradshaw D., Rose E. F. Oesophageal cancer in Zulu men, South Africa: a case-control study. Br J Cancer. 1985 Mar;51(3):399–405. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1985.54. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Vizcaino A. P., Parkin D. M., Skinner M. E. Risk factors associated with oesophageal cancer in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Br J Cancer. 1995 Sep;72(3):769–773. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1995.408. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Wabinga H. R. Frequency of Helicobacter pylori in gastroscopic biopsy of Ugandan Africans. East Afr Med J. 1996 Oct;73(10):691–693. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Wabinga H. R., Parkin D. M., Wabwire-Mangen F., Mugerwa J. W. Cancer in Kampala, Uganda, in 1989-91: changes in incidence in the era of AIDS. Int J Cancer. 1993 Apr 22;54(1):26–36. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910540106. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ziegler J. L., Katongole-Mbidde E. Kaposi's sarcoma in childhood: an analysis of 100 cases from Uganda and relationship to HIV infection. Int J Cancer. 1996 Jan 17;65(2):200–203. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19960117)65:2<200::AID-IJC12>3.0.CO;2-H. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. van Rensburg S. J., Benadé A. S., Rose E. F., du Plessis J. P. Nutritional status of African populations predisposed to esophageal cancer. Nutr Cancer. 1983;4(3):206–216. doi: 10.1080/01635588209513759. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. van Rensburg S. J. Epidemiologic and dietary evidence for a specific nutritional predisposition to esophageal cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1981 Aug;67(2):243–251. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES