Skip to main content
search here
username password
Macmillan and Cancerbackup merged in 2008. Together we provide free, high quality information for people affected by cancer through our publications, website and phone service. Find out more| .
How we produce our information|
In the UK, information about the frequency of cancers is collected by Cancer Registries. At the present time Cancer Registries don't ask about the ethnic background of people who get cancer, and so there is no precise information about which cancers most commonly occur in Nigerian people in Britain.
However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organisation) does record the frequency of cancer in different countries, and has produced estimates for the most commonly occurring cancers in Nigeria in 2002.
The following two tables show the most frequent cancers in men and women, in Nigeria and the UK, in 2002.
Table 1. Men
* a type of skin cancer
Table 2. Women
(In both tables the figures in brackets are the percentage of the total number of all cancers).
A molar pregnancy happens when, after fertilisation of the female egg by the male sperm, only the placenta develops, without any trace of an embryo, or unborn child. The mass of placenta goes on to form a growth within the womb. This growth is called a hydatidiform mole, hence the name 'molar pregnancy'. Hydatidiform moles are not cancers, and can be completely cured.
There are two types of hydatidiform mole, known as complete or partial moles (CHM or PHM). CHMs occur in about 1 in every 1000 pregnancies. It is not clear how frequently PHMs occur as they often appear as a miscarriage in early pregnancy and may not be recognised. The rest of this answer relates to CHMs.
These days CHMs are often discovered in the first few months of pregnancy when a woman has a routine ultrasound scan. This will show the abnormal development of the placenta. If the scan has suggested that there could be a CHM then the next step is a blood test. This looks at the level of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). This hormone is normally produced by the placenta but when a molar pregnancy has developed the level of hCG in the blood is much higher than would normally be expected.
Women who develop CHMs but have not had routine ultrasound scans are likely to develop abnormal bleeding, from the vagina, during their pregnancy. This will almost always lead to an ultrasound scan, once again this will suggest the presence of the mole and the blood test, checking the hCG level will reinforce diagnosis.
If the ultrasound and hCG level show that a mole is present then the next step is usually a small operation, known as a D & C, to remove the growth. Usually a D & C involves scraping the lining of the womb to remove tissue, but in the case of suspected moles tissue is sucked out of the womb with a special vacuum pump to avoid the risk of damaging the lining of the womb. The D & C is done under anaesthetic and does not involve any cutting or stitches.
Examination in the laboratory of the tissue removed by the D & C will confirm the diagnosis of a hydatidiform mole.
When talking about cancer of the liver it is very important to be clear about the difference between primary and secondary cancer.
A primary cancer is one which starts in a particular part of the body, a secondary cancer is one which spreads to that part of the body from a cancer elsewhere. Primary liver cancers are quite uncommon in the UK, with less than 1,000 new cases each year, making up fewer than 1 in every 100 cancers diagnosed.
About 6 out of 10 primary liver cancers produce a substance called alpha fetoprotein (AFP). AFP passes into the bloodstream and can be measured by a simple blood test.
Finding a raised level of AFP in the blood does not necessarily mean someone has a primary liver cancer. The AFP level can also be raised during a normal pregnancy and when there is inflammation of the liver (hepatitis). Some other types of cancer can also cause a rise in AFP, these include some testicular cancers, and some cancers of the pancreas or stomach.
Although it can be elevated in other illnesses a high AFP level in the blood can help in making a diagnosis of primary liver cancer.
For those people with primary liver cancer who have raised AFP level the chemical can be used as a ‘tumour marker’ to monitor the progress of the condition, a falling level would suggest things are improving whereas a rising level would suggest the cancer is progressing.
The AFP level also has a bearing on the outcome of treatment, those people with lower levels of AFP generally tend to do better than those with much higher levels.
Epidermal growth factor is a protein that stimulates cells to multiply. It works by attaching to a receptor, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), on the cell and this starts the process of growth and cell division. The cancer cells in some large bowel cancers (carcinomas of the colon or rectum) have an abnormally high number of EGFRs. Researchers have now discovered a drug, called cetuximab, which blocks these receptors and stops the growth factor from stimulating them.
Clinical trials have now shown that cetuximab can shrink some large bowel cancers. It is not clear yet whether using cetuximab can actually increase life expectancy for people with advanced colorectal cancer.
In the trials that have been done so far, cetuximab has been used on its own, or combined with irinotecan, a chemotherapy (cytotoxic) drug that is often used to treat bowel cancer. The trials showed that the combination of these two drugs was better than giving cetuximab on its own.
Cetuximab only works against those bowel cancers that have an excess of EGFRs, and so it would not be suitable for everyone with a colorectal cancer. It was licensed in the UK in July 2004, for the treatment of colorectal cancers that have come back after initial treatment, (which included irinotecan), and has spread to other parts of the body. Cetuximab is given in combination with irinotecan.
Cetuximab is one of a new group of drugs being used in cancer treatment called monoclonal antibodies. In general monoclonal antibodies seem to have fewer side-effects than normal chemotherapy. The main side-effects of cetuximab seem to be a temporary skin rash, which looks rather like acne, and tiredness.
Prostate cancer is strongly related to age. It is rare in men under the age of 50 but becomes increasingly common as men get older.
Fewer than 9 men in every 100,000 between the ages of 44 and 49 develop prostate cancer each year. But, as men get older this risk increases. Between the ages of 55 and 59 about 114 men out of every 100,000 are diagnosed each year. This rises to 449 men out of every 100,000 between the ages of 65 to 69. And, by the time men are 85 or older about 894 out every 100,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
These figures are for men diagnosed with prostate cancer. But, doctors think that many more men over the age of 50 have cancerous changes in the tissue of the prostate. And, that by the age of 80, as many as 60–70 out of every 100 men may have these changes. But, despite this only about 4 in every 100 men die from prostate cancer.
This means that some older men develop prostate cancers which cause symptoms and need treatment. But, many others develop prostate cancers which remain dormant, or inactive. These cancers cause no problems and have no effect on their natural life expectancy. So, men are more likely to die with prostate cancer than from it.
Paget's disease of the penis is caused by an abnormal change in the cells of the sweat producing glands in the skin (outer layer) of the penis. It's a rare condition that tends to affect men over the age of 60.
It's not a cancer but can develop into a cancer if it is left untreated.
Itching and a red scaly area (like eczema) on the penis are the commonest symptoms. The diagnosis is made by removing a small piece of tissue (biopsy) which is then examined under a microscope.
The usual treatment of Paget's disease is surgery to remove the area and a wide margin of healthy tissue (wide local excision). In some cases a specialised type of surgery called Moh's surgery may be used.
Other treatments that are sometimes used include radiotherapy, and chemotherapy cream applied to the area.
Over the years there have been suggestions that lycopene, the pigment in tomatoes which gives them their red colour, might help to prevent prostate cancer, and that eating a diet rich in tomatoes, or tomato products (like tomato sauce or tomato puree) might reduce the risk of a man getting cancer of the prostate.
Many studies have been done looking at this question, and the results have been variable. Overall the evidence seems to be that men who eat a diet rich in tomato products over a long period of time are slightly less likely to get prostate cancer than men who eat little or no tomatoes or tomato products. The effect seems to be slightly greater from eating cooked tomatoes or tomato sauces or purees, than raw tomatoes.
However, this does not mean that eating a tomato-rich diet will definitely prevent a cancer developing. In fact, the cause of prostate cancer in vast majority of patients is unknown and hence there is no effective preventive measure.
Interferon quite often causes a slight loss of concentration in people who are having the drug. This is usually very mild and often passes almost unnoticed. But sometimes it can be more troublesome, and can lead to mental confusion, with people becoming muddled and forgetful. It may also lead to a feeling of depression. Occasionally the symptoms progress with increasing tiredness, and lack of energy, and very occasionally seizures (fits) can occur. These more serious side effects of interferon on a person's alertness and mental state usually only occur if high doses of the drug are being given. They also tend to be more common in older people. Normally stopping the drug, or reducing the dose, will rapidly ease the problem and there are usually no long-term effects.
It is always difficult trying to make predictions about the likely outcome for an individual person when they are first diagnosed. Unfortunately for the vast majority of people with myeloma there is no cure, and any treatment will be trying to slow down the development of the disease and control any symptoms.
Sometimes the disease can be slow growing or it may be diagnosed at an early stage before it is causing any problems. Both of these may affect how long a person may live with myeloma. However the prognosis can still be difficult to predict.
There are well-tested staging systems such as the one developed by Durie and Salmon, which can help the doctors to determine the stage of a person's myeloma. This can help to give some indication of prognosis. Durie and Salmon's staging system looks at the haemoglobin level, calcium, renal function, amount of bone disease and level of the myeloma protein in the blood or urine. This may identify people with very early stages of myeloma that do not require therapy. It can also identify those with more advanced stage disease that tend to have a worse prognosis.
However, this is not 100% accurate and has led to the investigation of other prognostic markers such as beta 2 microglobulin level, lactate dehydrogenase level, C-reactive protein level, myeloma cell appearances under the microscope, the presence and number of myeloma cells in the blood as well as specialised tests looking at the rate of growth of the myeloma cells.
The treatment you have, and how the disease responds, will also affect your the outcome. Information about a treatment is generally based on treating large groups of people. Your doctors will be able to tell you how 100 similar people responded to treatment X or what happened to 100 people with disease Y. However, people usually want to know what is likely to happen for them and this uncertainty can be very difficult to deal with.
For most conditions there have been studies looking at various factors that can predict who is going to do well and who is going to do poorly. This is important in counselling patients appropriately but is also important in guiding treatments. These systems allow doctors to give stronger treatment to people with a poor prognosis and to avoid strong treatments with potential side effects for people with a good prognosis.
Other important variables include the person's age and the treatment that they are able to receive, such as high-dose therapy or a bone marrow transplant.
It is important to emphasise that none of these pieces of information are absolute predictors of the future, and the information that they give must be put into context for each individual person. Your doctor will explain what your unique risk factors are and what this may mean for you in terms of treatment and prognosis.
It isn't possible to give an exact number for this. The figure may differ from one laboratory to another depending on how each laboratory carries out the test. A person's age, sex and whether they are a smoker can also affect what the normal levels for CEA are for them.
Your doctor will be able to tell you what the normal levels for CEA are in the laboratory they use. This should help you to understand your test results better.
Posted by Dianne J
Posted by lesley22
Posted by bob jk
Browser does not support script.