International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | May 2022 | Vol 10 | Issue 5 Page 1012 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Bassey EU et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2022 May;10(5):1012-1015 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Childhood cancers in a tertiary facility in Southern Nigeria: a four-year update Eno-Obong U. Bassey*, Ekemini N. Udo INTRODUCTION Cancer is a global epidemic, with about 19.3 million new cases reported. It accounts for 9.9 million deaths globally. 1 Worldwide, cancer now causes more deaths than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. It is also a leading cause of death for children and adolescents. According to a WHO 2018 report, an estimation of about 300,000 children less than 19 years are diagnosed of cancer each year. 2 Of these, about 160,000 new cases of cancer and 90,000 deaths are recorded annually in children under the age of 15 years. 2 Developing countries contribute an estimated 60-80% of the total burden of all new cancer cases worldwide, with a mortality of approximately 80% or even 90% in the world’s poorest countries. 3,4 On the other hand, in developed countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured. 3,5 There are projections, that by the year 2030, 85% of all cancer death may be occurring in low and middle income countries (LMIC). A key factor responsible for this projection is the global population that is growing and aging as well as the changes in the distribution of major risk factors for cancer. 1,3 The increase in childhood cancer mortality in LMIC is largely due to late presentation, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, lack of diagnosis, obstacles to accessing care, Department of Paediatrics, Univerity of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo. Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Received: 02 December 2021 Revised: 29 December 2021 Accepted: 01 April 2022 *Correspondence: Dr. Eno-Obong U. Bassey, E-mail: utukenoobong@yahoo.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Cancer is a global epidemic and leading cause of death for children and adolescents worldwide. Developing countries contribute an estimated 60-80% of the total burden of all new cancer cases worldwide. Data on the burden of childhood cancers across Nigeria varies from centre to centre and may well even vary in periodic reviews done in the same areas over a time lag. It was therefore important to have periodic reviews of the various cancer types seen or evolving in various geographical areas. Methods: A prospective hospital-based study, over a period of four years, from January 2016 to December 2019. Children admitted and diagnosed with cancers in the paediatric medical ward of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital were reviewed. This teaching hospital was one of the two tertiary health care facilities in the state and caters for children from different parts of the state and its environs. Results: The frequency distribution of each childhood cancer showed nephroblastoma as the predominant cancer seen, 12 (23.1%), followed by non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 6 (11.5%). Retinoblastoma, Burkitt’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma were 5 (9.1%) and ranked third respectively. Leukaemia ranked 4th in frequency; 4 (7.7%) , children less than five years of age formed a greater percentage of those presenting with various cancers. Conclusions: Nephroblastoma was the predominant childhood cancer now seen in this geographical area of south- South Nigeria, with a decline in the incidence of Burkitt’s lymphoma, which was most frequent in erstwhile years. Keywords: Cancer, Children, Update, Nigeria DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20221170