Prevalence and trends in breast cancer in Lagos state, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the trends in the prevalence of breast cancer in Lagos State, Nigeria. A sample of 1000 subjects was taken from a population consisting of women between the ages of 15 and 60 years spread across the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State. Fifty questionnaires were distributed in each LGA. Employing statistical tools such as ANOVA, Chi-Square and that Duncan Multiple Range test, it was found that prevalence of breast cancer differs across age groups with the age range 26 to 45 having the highest prevalence. It was also observed that there is significant difference in prevalence across the years with 2007 recording the highest prevalence. Moreover, the study shows that women’s occupation or profession is important to whether they are diagnosed with breast cancer or not. The study shows steady growth in prevalence of breast cancer over years.

Key Words: Psycho-Social, Breast, Cancer, Lagos, Awareness