Pattern of adult malignancies in Zambia (1980-1989) in light of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 epidemic.

This study analysed histopathological and haematology records of 7836 neoplasms seen during the period 1980-1989 at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. The crude incidence rate of each malignancy per 100,000 adults per year was calculated and the patterns of malignancies were compared for the periods 1980-1983 and 1984-1989, the later coinciding with the advent of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. The six most common tumours were carcinoma of the cervix (19.6%), Kaposi's sarcoma (7%), bladder carcinoma (6.3%), hepatoma (5.8%), lymphoma (4.6%) and carcinoma of the breast (4.4%). Significant increases in the crude incidence rates of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and carcinoma of the breast were observed during the last 6 years of the study period (P = 0.001). Nodal KS showed the most significant rise from a crude incidence rate of 0.25 per 100,000 adults per year in the 1980-1983 period to 1.11 during the 1984-1989 period. In contrast to findings from Europe and the USA, no significant increase in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was detected in Zambia following the HIV epidemic.