The Epidemiology of Neurofibroma in Infancy and Childhood Among Nigerian Igbos

Abstract

Background: The neurofibroma has been defined as a fibroma composed of “nervous and connective tissue” and held to have been first used in 1892. Moreover, an illustrated book without a figure defined it alike. Furthermore, a weighty tome also explained this similarly. Hence, what are the epidemiological features? The answer is based on a UK group that considered the use of a histopathology data pool in its analysis. Materials and Methods: This paper contributes with personal experiences obtained among an Ethnic Group in Nigeria using a Reference Pathology Laboratory in which I was the pioneer pathologist from 1970 to 2010. Results: It was remarkable that, up to 5 years, males predominated in consonance with the Igbo mothers’ preference for sons; as regards females the oldest teenage group was prominent in accord with their noted trend to seek attractiveness. Conclusion: This paper gives the epidemiological features of neurofibroma among the Igbo ethnic group domiciled in a developing community.