During World War II, Burkitt served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in England and later in Kenya and Somaliland. After the war, Burkitt decided his future lay in medical service in the developing world and he moved to Uganda. He eventually settled in Kampala and remained there until 1964.
The first was the description, distribution, and ultimately, the aetiology of a pediatric cancer that bears his name, Burkitt's lymphoma.[5]
Burkitt in 1957 observed a child with swellings in the angles of the jaw. "About two weeks later ... I looked out the window and saw another child with a swollen face ... and began to investigate these jaw tumours."[6] "Having an intensely enquiring mind, Burkitt took the details of these cases to the records department ... which showed that jaw tumours were common, [and] were often associated with other tumours at unusual sites"[7] in children in Uganda. He kept copious notes and concluded that these apparently different childhood cancers were all manifestations of a single type of malignancy.[8] Burkitt published A sarcoma involving the jaws of African children.[9] The newly identified cancer became known as "Burkitt's lymphoma". He went on to map the geographical distribution of the tumour. Burkitt, together with Dennis Wright,[10] published a book titled Burkitt's Lymphoma in April 1970.[11]
Dietary fibre
His second major contribution came when, on his return to Britain, Burkitt compared the pattern of diseases in African hospitals with Western diseases. He concluded that many Western diseases which were rare in Africa were the result of diet and lifestyle. He wrote a book, Don't Forget Fibre in your Diet,[12] which became an international bestseller.
Burkitt suggested that higher fibre intake can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. This was based on observations of the difference in patterns of diseases between Western and traditional African societies. Burkitt noted the lower rates of colorectal cancer in African countries compared to the West. He also found that African diets were generally higher in dietary fibre.[13]
Recent research has found that "consuming 10 g more total dietary fibre a day is associated with an average 10% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer"[14] and a diet high in dietary fibre is also advised as a precaution against other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.[15]
Burkitt documentary film
A 72 minute documentary film exploring the life of Denis Burkitt, as told by filmmaker Éanna Mac Cana, a survivor of Burkitt's lymphoma, was released in Ireland in July 2024.[16][17][18]
^Burkitt, Denis (1979). Don't forget fibre in your diet: to help avoid many of our commonest diseases. London: Martin Dunitz Ltd. ISBN978-0-906348-07-9. OCLC12583461.
^Lewin, M. R. (January 1991). "Is There a Fibre-Depleted Aetiology for Colorectal Cancer? Experimental Evidence". Reviews on Environmental Health. 9 (1): 17–30. doi:10.1515/reveh.1991.9.1.17. PMID1659729. S2CID25147372.
