Oesophageal cancer and Kaposi's Sarcoma in Malawi: A comparative analysis

11Citations
Citations of this article
29Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Given that oesophageal cancer (OC) is common in Malawi and its outcome is so dismal, would it be pragmatic to promptly mitigate the effects of smoking, alcohol and aflatoxins rather than seek a higher degree of local evidence for their role in OC? We retrospectively analysed a total of 13,217 OC and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) cases as recorded in the Malawi National Cancer Registry from 1985 to February, 2006. We found no OC clustering to suggest a role for culturally variable habits like smoking, alcohol, maize use and maize storage in the country. It may be that drinking and eating hot foods physically damages the oesophageal mucosa, this is in line with work recently reported from Asia. We also found that OC numbers have risen in line with KS (and HIV) suggesting a link between these conditions.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Mlombe, Y., Dzamalala, C., Chisi, J., & Othieno-Abinya, N. (2009). Oesophageal cancer and Kaposi’s Sarcoma in Malawi: A comparative analysis. Malawi Medical Journal, 21(2), 66–68. https://doi.org/10.4314/mmj.v21i2.44562

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free