37 Nigerian Journal of Environment and Health 4 (2024) 37 – 48 Cancer Distribution Patterns over 5-Year Period (2016-2020) in Ekiti State Cancer Registry, Ido-Ekiti, Southwestern Nigeria Yemisi T. Alani 1 , Grace O. Akinlade 1* , Danjuma D. Maza 1 , Augustine B. Arogundade 1 , Adeniyi S. Oginni 2 and Joshua O. Ojo 1 1 Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 2 Department of Public Health, Redeemer's University, Ede Abstract Cancer is one of the major disease burdens worldwide and the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease. In Nigeria, the survival rate is low due to the high cost of treatment and late presentation at the hospitals. According to the 2020 Wo rld Cancer Report, prevention is the “only consideration that will credibly decrease [cancer] burden”. The socio-demographic data of 707 cancer patients spanning over five years (2016-2020) were collected from the Ekiti State Cancer Registry at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI). Cancer types were distributed as follows in Ekiti state: reproductive (37.2%), breast (33.5%), gastrointestinal tract, GIT, (7.1%), blood and bone marrow (3.1%), colon (3.1%), connective tissue (2.8%), skin (2.7%), metastatic (2.5%), liver and gall bladder (2.3%), brain (1.8%), endocrine (1.8%), kidney (1.6%), lungs (1.0%), lymphoma (0.8%), eye (0.7%) and jaw (0.4%). The number of male and female subjects was 264 (37.3%) and 443 (62.7%), respectively, with 53% of the female subjects presenting with breast cancer. The prevalence of cancer ranged from 0.64 per 100,000 at Ise/Orun LGA to 15.59 per 100,000 at Ido-Osi LGA. The study found that in Ekiti State, cancer occurrence is higher in females than males, the most frequent being cancer of reproductive sites. Furthermore, the average age of cancer patients was 57.8 years. © NJEH 2024 Published by Living Science Foundation. Keywords: cancer prevalence, cancer distribution, cancer registry, medical records, Ekiti State, cancer 1. Introduction Globally, cancer is known as the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease with estimates of 6.7 million deaths in 2008 and is projected to rise to 13.1 million deaths by 2030. Morbidity and mortality from cancer are projected to continue to rise to an estimated 11.4 million deaths by 2030 (WHO, 2007a&b). In 2012, the Global Cancer Statistics (GLOBOCAN) estimated 14.1 million new cases of cancer, 8.2 million cancer deaths, and 32.2 million people living with cancer (based on five years prevalence) worldwide. Of these, 57% (8 million) of new cases, 65% (5.3 million) of cancer deaths, and 48% (15.6 million) of the 5-year cancer prevalence cases were reported to occur in less developed regions. Global Cancer Statistics, GLOBOCAN (2020) reported 19.3 million new cancer cases and almost 10 million deaths worldwide in year 2020. Recently, the trend of the disease is increasingly growing, thereby increasing its global burden. Given this, the global incidence of cancer cases is projected to rise to 24 million people by 2050, from which 70% of the predicted will be diagnosed annually from the lower-income countries. Accepted 17 September 2024. ∗ Corresponding author Email address: gakinlade@oauife.edu.ng