A combined retrospective (1971-1980) and prospective (1981-1990) study of the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and pathology of breast cancer in a black African population was carried out. There were 1946 biopsy-proven cases, with a rate frequency of 33.6 per 100,000 patients per year. The age range was 14-96 years but 70 per cent of patients were between 26 and 50 years old. The cumulative frequency of cancer was 0.8 per cent at age < 20 years and 3.3 per cent at age < 25 years; the peak age range for disease was 36-45 years. Of 1842 evaluable patients, 17.2 per cent presented with stages I or II cancer and 73.8 per cent with stage III disease. The dominant histopathological type was infiltrating ductal cancer (49.2 per cent), followed by undifferentiated anaplastic carcinoma (33.3 per cent). Burkitt's lymphoma occurred in five patients and developed concurrently and rapidly during lactation in four. The prospective study did not demonstrate that age at menarche or first full-term pregnancy, duration of breast feeding or parity were risk factors in black women.

A 10-year review of oesophageal cancer in Ibadan, Nigeria, is presented Seventy-two patients representing a mean annual incidence of 0.31 per 100 000 of the population were found. The age range was 27-96 years, with a mean of 57 years for men and 65 for women. Dysphagia, weight loss and anaemia were the significant features in the majority and 40 per cent of the patients presented between 4 and 12 months (mean 7.5 months). None of the commonly used dietary ingredients could be implicated in the causation of this tumour in which squamous cell cancer accounted for 88.5 per cent of all types. The middle third was the commonest site of tumour formation (45 per cent) while the lower third accounted for 40 per cent. A low operability rate of 32 per cent is recorded and only 21 per cent were suitable for oesophagectomy. Survival among this group was 50 per cent at 1 year, 20 per cent at 3 years and 10 per cent at 4 years.

Summary: The outcome in 57 male patients with breast cancer has been analysed. Four

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Summary Omphalocele, the congenital anomaly of the anterior abdominal wall in the newborn, is a serious condition with a grave prognosis. Sac rupture, occurring in 25% of cases in Ibadan is associated with a high mortality. Although its embryogenesis is now better understood, its underlying aetiology remains obscure. Prematurity and low birth weight have no causal relationship to the condition, but a preponderance among the lower socio-economic groups in Ibadan is observed. Thirty-three cases seen over a 5-year period at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, constitute an unusually high incidence, suggesting that the condition may be aetiologically related to umbilical hernia which is known to be commoner in African than in Caucasian infants. Overall treatment results remain unsatisfactory for all types and mortality is still high. In those centres, particularly in the developing countries with scarce resources, conservative management should be the primary treatment modality for all intact sacs but staged procedures utilizing prosthetic materials should be reserved for the large ruptured sac.