Improving cancer incidence evaluation through local government area matching - a study of the Edo-Benin cancer registry in Nigeria

Sep 21, 2026

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Cancer registries in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African settings struggle to meet international cancer registration standards. This study aimed to improve cancer incidence estimation by detecting under-reporting of new cancers. It matched patient-reported local government areas (LGAs) in Edo state, Nigeria, with each LGA’s catchment population. Hospital, clinic, pathology laboratory, and death-certificate records followed IARC guidelines, enabling standardized incidence comparisons and sex- and site-specific incidence estimates.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Oko‑oboh etal. BMC Public Health (2024) 24:514 [https://doi.org/10.1](https://doi.org/10.1) 186/s12889‑024‑17972‑6 BMC Public Health RESEARCH Open Access Improving cancer incidence evaluation through local government area matching: a study of the Edo‑Benin cancer registry in Nigeria Gregrey A. Oko‑oboh 1*, Anssi Auvinen1, Darlington E. Obaseki2 and Janne Pitkäniemi 1,3,4 Abstract Background Cancer registries in Nigeria, as well as in other sub‑Saharan African countries, face challenges in adhering to international cancer registration standards. We aimed to improve cancer incidence estimation by identifying under‑reporting of new cancers through matching patient‑reported local government areas (LGAs) in Edo state, Nigeria, to their respective catchment populations. Methods Information on cancers was obtained from records of hospitals, medical clinics, pathology laboratories, and death certificates according to IARC guidelines. We utilized normalized scores to establish consistency in the number of cancers by calendar time, and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) to assess the variation in cancer incidence across LGAs compared to Edo state average. Subsequently, we estimated sex‑ and site‑specific annual incidence using the average number of cancers from 2016 to 2018 and the predicted mid‑year population in three LGAs. Age‑standardization was performed using the direct method with the World Standard Population of 1966. Results The number of incident cancers consistent between 2016–2018 in Egor, Oredo, and Uhunmwonde showed a significantly increased SIR. From 2016 to 2018 in these three LGAs, 1,045 new cancers were reported, with 453 (42 .4%) in males and 592 (57 . 6%) in females. The average annual age‑standardized incidence rate (ASR) was 50.6 (95% CI: 45.2 – 56 . 6) per 105. In men, the highest incidence was prostate cancer (ASR: 22.4 per 105), and in women, it was breast cancer (ASR: 16.5 per 105), and cervical cancer (ASR: 12.0 per 105) . Microscopically verified cancers accounted for 98. 1% . Conclusions We found lower age‑standardized incidence rates than those reported earlier for the Edo state population. Collecting information on the local government areas of the cancers allows better matching with the respective target population. We recommend using LGA information to improve the evaluation of population‑based cancer incidence in sub‑Saharan countries. Keywords Cancer registration, Local Government Area, Incidence, Edo‑Benin, Nigeria *Correspondence: Gregrey A. Oko‑oboh gregrey. oko‑[oboh@tuni.fi](oboh@tuni.fi) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[http://](http://)[ ](http://)[creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/](creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in

FAQs

What problem does the study address in Nigerian cancer registries?

The study addresses challenges in adhering to international cancer registration standards, especially under-reporting of new cancers and inconsistency in incidence estimation.

How did the study estimate cancer incidence across LGAs?

It matched patient-reported local government areas to their catchment populations, used normalized scores for consistency over calendar time, and calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIR) to compare LGAs with the Edo state average.

What cancer incidence patterns were reported for men and women?

Across 2016–2018, prostate cancer had the highest incidence in men, while breast cancer and cervical cancer were highest among women, based on age-standardized incidence rates.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Himbo