20-Years of Population-Based Cancer Registration in Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer Prevention in The Gambia, West Africa
Open Access
- 30 September 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 8 (9), e75775
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075775
Abstract
The Gambia Hepatitis Intervention Study (GHIS) was designed as a randomised control trial of infant hepatitis B vaccination applied to public health policy, with the main goal of preventing primary liver cancer later in adult life in The Gambia. To that effect, the National Cancer Registry of The Gambia (NCR), a population-based cancer registry (PBCR), was established in 1986 to actively collect data on all cancer diagnosis nation-wide. We extracted 20-years (1990-2009) of data to assess for the first time, the evolution of the most common cancers, also describe and demonstrate the role of the PBCR in a hepatitis B and liver cancer prevention programme in this population. We estimated Age-Standardised Incidence Rates (ASR (W)) of the most common cancers registered during the period by gender. The registration period was divided into four 5-year intervals and incidence rates were estimated for each interval. The most common cancers in males were liver, prostate, lung plus bronchus, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and stomach, accounting for 60%, 5%, 4%, 5% and 3%, respectively. Similarly, cancers of the cervix uteri, liver, breast and NHL, were the most common in females, accounting for 33%, 24%, 11% and 4% of the female cancers, respectively. Cancer incidence has remained relatively stable over time, but as shown elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa the disease is a threat in The Gambia. The infection related cancers which are mostly preventable (HBV in men and HPV/HIV in women) were the most common. At the moment the data is not enough to detect an effect of hepatitis B vaccination on liver cancer incidence in The Gambia. However, we observed that monitoring case occurrence through PBCR is a key public health pre-requisite for rational planning and implementation of targeted interventions for improving the health of the population.This publication has 42 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evaluation of data quality at the Gambia national cancer registryInternational Journal of Cancer, 2012
- Increase in Female Liver Cancer in The Gambia, West Africa: Evidence from 19 Years of Population-Based Cancer Registration (1988–2006)PLOS ONE, 2011
- Population‐based breast (female) and cervix cancer rates in the Gambia: Evidence of ethnicity‐related variationsInternational Journal of Cancer, 2010
- Breast cancer incidence and mortality in a Caribbean population: Comparisons with African‐AmericansInternational Journal of Cancer, 2008
- Early onset of breast cancer in a group of British black womenBritish Journal of Cancer, 2008
- Regional differences in HIV trends in The GambiaAIDS, 2003
- Cancer incidence in Conakry, Guinea: first results from the cancer registry 1992–1995International Journal of Cancer, 1997
- Cancer in the european population of harare, Zimbabwe, 1990–1992International Journal of Cancer, 1995
- Cancer in Mali, 1987–1988International Journal of Cancer, 1990
- REAL-TIME ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN DETECTION OF PRIMARY LIVER CANCER IN INTERTROPICAL AFRICAThe Lancet, 1985