Lung carcinoma in the Igbos

Abstract

A study was made of lung carcinomas occurring among the Igbos, a major ethnic group in Nigeria. The series comprised the surgical specimens received personally at a reference laboratory, the clinical summaries having been provided by thoracic surgeons over a period of 30 years. There were 30 males and 13 females aged between 14 and 72 years, their mean age being 50 years. Adenocarcinoma preponderated in both sexes. The major reported symptoms were cough, chest pain and breathlessness. Pleural effusion and haemoptysis featured prominently.
The superior vena cava sundrome, Pancoast syndrome, and chest wall invasion occurred. The single case of oat cell carcinoma contrasted with the author's experience of this striking lesion when studying in Glasgow, Scotland. The paucity of lung carcinoma itself contrasts definitely with the teeming cases of prostate carcinoma being encountered in this ethnic group.


Nigerian Journal of Surgical Sciences Vol. 17 (1) 2007: pp. 21-24