Trends of gastro-intestinal tract cancer between 2013 and 2019 in Southern Ethiopia: A retrospective record review
Keywords:
epidemiology, cancer, gastric, esophageal, colorectal, EthiopiaAbstract
Background: Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancer is a serious public health concern in both the industrialized and developing nations. In the world today, it is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. However, there was insufficient evidence regarding the burden of GIT cancer in Ethiopia and the study area. The present study aimed to assess trends of GIT cancer at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (HUCSH) between 2013 and 2019.
Methods: A retrospective record review was conducted to determine the trends of gastrointestinal cancer. A review of all patients’ records with a diagnosis of cancer between 2013 and 2019 at HUCSH was conducted by trained data collectors. The logbooks at the units of oncology and pathology yielded a total of 3002 complete records of cancer cases. The data was collected using a checklist from February to May 2020. Descriptive analyses were conducted and presented using tables and figures.
Result: Of a total, 720(24%) gastrointestinal tract cancer cases were identified at HUCSH between 2013 and 2019. The three most frequent forms of GIT cancer were gastric (35.7%, n=257), esophageal (34.1%, n=245) and colorectal (28.3%, n=204). More than half of the cases were male 391 (54.3%) with a male-to-female ratio of 1: 0.84. The majority of the cases came from Oromia (52.6%, n=379), and Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples (46.7%, n=336) regions. There was a speedy increase in the number of cases though the years. In comparison to 2013, there were more than five-fold increases in all forms of GIT cancers in 2019.
Conclusion: The overall burden and trends of gastrointestinal cancer is highly increasing from year to year. Educating the public about healthy lifestyle changes and raising awareness of the problem can lessen the gastrointestinal cancer burden. Routine registration is also important to monitor and regulate the disease’s progress.
