Cancer of the oesophagus in Zimbabwe.

Data for oesophageal cancers were requested from the Cancer Registry of Zimbabwe for the three years 1986-1988. There were 437 cases notified compared with 783 cases recorded in the Government's Statistical returns. There was a ratio of 6.9 males to one female accounting for 13.2 pc of all reported cancers in males and 1.7 pc of cancers in females. Prevalence increased with age to a rate of around 83 per hundred thousand in men aged 55 and older and 19 per hundred thousand in women over 65 years old. Notifications are only received from the Central Hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo. Addresses were not available for 31 pc of patients so that geographical variations could not be determined accurately. However, higher rates occurred in Harare and in the Mashonaland Provinces. It is recommended that cancer notifications should be obtained from all Government, Mission and Private hospitals in Zimbabwe.