The epidemiological transition in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has given rise to a concomitant increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases including cancers. Worldwide, cancer registries have been shown to be critical for the determination of cancer burden, conduct of research, and in the planning and implementation of cancer control measures. Cancer registration though vital is often neglected in SSA owing to competing demands for resources for healthcare. We report the implementation of a system for representative nation-wide cancer registration in Nigeria – the Nigerian National System of Cancer Registries (NSCR). The NSCR coordinates the activities of cancer registries in Nigeria, strengthens existing registries, establishes new registries, complies and analyses data, and makes these freely available to researchers and policy makers. We highlight the key challenges encountered in implementing this strategy and how they were overcome. This report serves as a guide for other low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) wishing to expand cancer registration coverage in their countries and highlights the training, mentoring, scientific and logistic support, and advocacy that are crucial to sustaining cancer registration programs in LMIC.

BackgroundSub-Saharan countries including Nigeria have the highest burden of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the world. Most studies on HPV surveillance in Nigeria were done in the southern part of the country. Geographical and socio-cultural diversity of Nigeria makes these data unlikely to be universally representative for the entire country. Northern Nigeria especially the North-East carries a higher prevalence of cervical cancer and many of its risk factors. The region may be harbouring a higher prevalence of HPV infection with a possibility of different genotypic distribution. This study was carried out to determine the burden and confirm the predominant HPV genotypes among women presenting for cervical cancer screening at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe (FTHG), North-eastern, Nigeria.MethodsThe study was an observational hospital based cross sectional study among women who presented for cervical cancer screening in FTHG. A total of 209 consenting women were tested for cervical HPV infection using PCR. DNA sequencing was carried out on positive samples to determine the prevalent HPV genotypes.ResultsThe prevalence of cervical HPV infection among the participants with mean age of 39.6 ± 10.4 years was 48.1 %. The five most predominant genotypes were 18, 16, 33, 31 and 35, with prevalence of 44.7 %, 13.2 %, 7.9 %, 5.3 % and 5.3 % respectively. Other genotypes observed were 38, 45, 56, 58, 82 and KC5. Multiple HPV infections were detected among 7.9 % of participants. Risk factors such as level of education (X2 = 15.897; p = 0.007), age at sexual debut (X2 = 6.916; p = 0.009), parity (X2 = 23.767; p = 0.000), number of life time sexual partners (X2 = 7.805; p = 0.005), age at first pregnancy (X2 = 10.554; p = 0.005) and history of other malignancies (X2 = 7.325; p = 0.007) were found to have a statistically significant association with HPV infection.ConclusionThis study identified a high burden of HPV infection in Northern Nigeria while also confirming HPV 18 and 16 as the most predominant genotypes. It further justifies the potential benefit of the currently available HPV vaccines in the area. A larger and community based study is however recommended for better representation of the area.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13027-015-0035-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The mandible is a common site of ameloblastoma in patients in Nigeria, and in most cases, it occurs in young adults. Early presentation, diagnosis, and treatment are important to reduce postoperative disfigurement and morbidity.

Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common benign salivary gland tumor, accounting for up to 60% of all tumors of the salivary gland and 75-80% of all parotid tumors. It has a slow but progressive growth pattern and if untreated can become greatly enlarged in size. However, giant PA is uncommon. We report a case of giant parotid PA of more than 10 years duration in a 60-year-old male Nigerian. A 60-year-old male patient with 10-year history of painless, massive, and pedunculated swelling in the left side of lower face measuring 25 cm × 23 cm × 17 cm in dimension. Computerized tomographic scan and percutaneous fine needle aspiration cytology returned a preliminary diagnosis of PA. Superficial parotidectomy with facial nerve preservation via the transcervical approach was performed. The excised mass weighed 5.5 kg while the postoperative healing was satisfactory. Benign PAs may attain a giant size if left untreated. Socioeconomic problems are some of the reasons for late presentation. Adequate excision of the tumor sparing the facial nerve is possible but intraoperative and reactionary hemorrhage are likely complications.

The study aimed at assessing rural youth participation in agriculture, their access to production resources and services and the effects of youths' access to inputs and services on farm productivity and youths' welfare. The study was conducted in three states (each randomly selected from the three agro-ecological zones of northern Nigeria). Two Local Government Areas (LGAs) with high agricultural potential were randomly selected from each state. Because of the similarity in physical and socio-economic characteristics of rural communities, three villages were randomly selected from each LGA, and six youths from each village. Thus three states, six LGAs, 18 villages and 108 rural youths were the sample frame for the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that 79% of rural youths were involved in agricultural activities for subsistence and sale. Over 62% of youths earned between N10,000.00ÁN50,000.00 per annum ($68.96Á$344.82) from agricultural activities. Only 2.8% of youths reported that inputs were readily available in their communities. According to the youths, marketing of farm produce was associated with numerous problems, including low prices (59.3%), bad road network (37%) and poor/lack of storage facilities (13%). In spite of these challenges, youths have assets such as good literacy levels (50%) and access to agricultural information among others. In terms of food security, 70% of youths reported that they had adequate stock of food to feed on throughout the year, while 30% said they did not have enough stock for the year, leading to hunger. The implication of the findings is that youths should be given the necessary orientation/training on agricultural production, which should be backed up with production resources and services to enable the youths to embark on agricultural activities in a sustainable manner.