Problem of hepatocellular carcinoma in West Africa

Figure 1 Multiple clustered bar charts labelled by incidence and mortality rates per 100000 population of West African countries (data from Globocan 2012 from International Agency for Research on Cancer[54].

Figure 2 Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen carriage in some West African countries.

Figure 3 Fungus-infested malt, a product of cereal used in the fermentation of local alcohol beverage “burukutu”. Cereals are widely consumed in West Africa and are a source of aflatoxin, which has been shown to potentiate the hepato-carcinogenicity of hepatitis B virus (Picture by Pantong Mark at Jos, Nigeria).

Figure 4 Iron pots used in brewing local beer in a typical West African setting (Picture by Pantong Mark, Jos, Nigeria).

Figure 5 Summary of most common clinical presentations of hepatocellular carcinoma in three West African communities: Gambia, Northern and Southern Nigeria. Note the similarity of clinical presentation in three study sites in two countries in the region. Number of hepatocellular carcinoma patients in parentheses.