Emergence of colorectal cancer in West Africa : accepting the inevitable - review

ABSTRACT

It seems not too long ago that colon and rectal cancer was called a 'rare' disease in rural Africa, however over the last 30 years in West Africa, published evidence has shown decade by decade increases in the incidence of Colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore CRC should now be accepted as a recognized disease in native Africans; nevertheless we must acknowledge that the incidence is a fraction of what obtains in the developed countries of Europe and America. This presentation will attempt to examine the emergence of CRC within the West African axis over the last 4 decades