Background: To date there has not been any nationwide age-standardized incidence data
reported for prostate cancer in Nigeria. We examined and integrated diverse trends in the agespecific
incidence of prostate cancer into a comprehensive trend for Nigeria, and examined
how best the existing data could generate a countrywide age-standardized incidence rate for
the disease.
Methods: Data were obtained from studies undertaken between 1970 and 2007 in referral
hospital-based cancer registries. Records from at least one tertiary hospital in each of the six
geopolitical zones of Nigeria were examined retrospectively. Data were also reported for the
rural population in cross-sectional prospective studies. Age-standardized incidence rates and
the annual incidence of disease were calculated.
Results: Higher incidence rates for prostate cancer during this period were recorded for patients
aged 60–69 years and 70–79 years, with a lower incidence rate for patients aged younger than
50 years. An exponential annual incidence rate of disease was observed in the 50–79 year age
group and peaked at 70–79 years before dropping again at age 80 years. The results showed
metastasis in more than half of these hospital-based prostate tumors.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that prostate cancer occurs at a relatively young age in Nigerians
and that hospital-based registry reports may not appropriately reflect the incidence of the disease in
Nigeria. A countrywide screening program is urgently needed. Finally, the difference in reported
stages of disease found in Nigerians and African-Americans versus Caucasians suggests biological
differences in the prognosis. Nigeria may thus typify one of the ancestral populations that harbor
inherited genes predisposing African-Americans to high-risk prostate cancer.