A retrospective study of the cancer patterns among hospital in-patients in Botswana 1960-72

Informing etiologic research priorities for squamous cell esophageal cancer in Africa: A review of setting‐specific exposures to known and putative risk factors

“…Going further back in time, in contrast to prebiblical reports in other ESCC hotspots ( e.g ., Iran), early reports on cancer of any type are scarce in Africa. Nevertheless ESCC is documented in Kenya in 1935 and in large numbers since the 1950's here as well as in South Africa and a decade later in Tanzania and Botswana . However, during 1897–1956 in Mengo Hospital, Uganda, EC was not as common as it was further south .…”

“…ESCC is also common in neighboring Zambia and Zimbabwe to Malawi's west where an easterly bias in cases' origin does not appear to be an artefact of referral patterns as it was present within surgical patients alone . Excesses in northern Matabeleland of Zimbabwe and in north‐east of Botswana were also reported in the 1960's and 1970's . In Tanzania, Dar es Salaam and the northern regions of Arusha, Tanga and Kilimanjaro are known high incidence areas .…”

“…31 Excesses in northern Matabeleland of Zimbabwe and in north-east of Botswana were also reported in the 1960's and 1970's. 32,33 In Tanzania, Dar es Salaam and the northern regions of Arusha, Tanga and Kilimanjaro are known high incidence areas. 34 Continuing north, in 2012 Kenya bore Africa's second largest ESCC burden, particularly, but not exclusively, in the western highlands and rift-valley.…”

“…Nevertheless ESCC is documented in Kenya in 1935 56 and in large numbers since the 1950's here 57,58 as well as in South Africa 59-61 and a decade later in Tanzania and Botswana. 33,34 However, during 1897-1956 in Mengo Hospital, Uganda, EC was not as common as it was further south. 62 Oettl e suggests that ESCC was rare in South Africa (Johannesburg) prior to World War II and increased steeply thereafter, supported by systematic data on the large male mining populations.…”

Estimates of the worldwide frequency of sixteen major cancers in 1980

“…For Swaziland (and Lesotho), incidence rates from the Swaziland Cancer Registry, 1979-83, were used. For Botswana (and Nambia) estimates were made by using an old (1960-72) set of relative frequencies (Macrae and Cook, 1975) applied to the estimated incidence rates for all cancers in South African Blacks (66 per lo5 for males, 43 per lo5 for females).…”