Prostate cancer in Nigerians: Facts and nonfacts

Purpose: We established the actual incidence of prostate cancer in Nigeria, the largest concentration of indigenous black patients in the world, to ascertain whether the global ranking for Nigeria as a low risk for prostate cancer is accurate. Materials and Methods: We prospectively studied Nigerian men 45 years old or older with prostatic symptoms. Patients histologically positive for prostate cancer were analyzed for clinical features, tumor characteristics and survival. The hospital incidence, national prostate cancer risk, pool and death rate were calculated from the hospital admissions data and national population statistics. Results: Mean age of patients with prostate cancer plus or minus standard deviation was 68.3 +/- 9.4 years. The hospital incidence was 127/100,000 cases. The national prostate cancer risk was 2% of patients, the pool was 110,000 and the death rate was 20,000 annually. The predominant clinical findings were those of advanced disease. Approximately 64% of the patients died within 2 years. Conclusions: Prostate cancer incidence and the magnitude of the risk in our population may have been grossly underestimated. The clinical prostate cancer rate in Nigerians may be as great as that noted in black men in the United States, which may suggest a common enhancing genetic predisposition.