Denis Parsons Burkitt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 28 February 1911 Enniskillen, Ireland |
| Died | 23 March 1993 (aged 82) Gloucester, England |
| Known for | Burkitt's lymphoma,Cancer |
| Awards | Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize(1972) Charles S. Mott Prize(1982) Buchanan Medal(1992) Fellow of the Royal Society[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Surgeon |
Denis Parsons Burkitt,CMG,MD,FRCS(Ed),FRS[1] (28 February 1911 – 23 March 1993) was an Irish surgeon who made significant advances in health, such as theaetiology of apediatric cancer, now calledBurkitt's lymphoma, and the finding that rates ofcolorectal cancer are higher in those who eat limiteddietary fibre.
Burkitt was born inEnniskillen,County Fermanagh,Ireland. He was the son ofJames Parsons Burkitt, a civil engineer. Aged eleven he lost his right eye in an accident. He attendedPortora Royal School in Enniskillen andDean Close School,England. In 1929 Burkitt enteredTrinity College, Dublin to studyengineering, but believing his evangelical calling was to be a doctor, he transferred to medicine and graduated in 1935. In 1938 he passed theRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh fellowship examinations. On 28 July 1943 he married Olive Rogers.[2]
DuringWorld War II, Burkitt served with theRoyal Army Medical Corps in England and later inKenya andSomaliland. After the war, Burkitt decided his future lay in medical service in the developing world and he moved toUganda. He eventually settled inKampala and remained there until 1964.
Burkitt was president of theChristian Medical Fellowship and wrote frequently on religious/medical themes. Burkitt was awarded theCMG in the1974 Birthday Honours.[3] In 1979, he became an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.[4] He received theBower Award and Prize in 1992. He died of a stroke on 23 March 1993 inGloucester and was buried inBisley, Gloucestershire, England.[5]
Burkitt made two major contributions to medical science related to his experience inAfrica.
The first was the description, distribution, and ultimately, the aetiology of a pediatric cancer that bears his name,Burkitt's lymphoma.[6]
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."[7] "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"[8] in children in Uganda. He kept copious notes and concluded that these apparently different childhood cancers were all manifestations of a single type ofmalignancy.[9] Burkitt publishedAsarcoma involving the jaws of African children.[10] The newly identifiedcancer became known as "Burkitt's lymphoma". He went on to map the geographical distribution of thetumour. Burkitt, together withDennis Wright,[11] published a book titledBurkitt's Lymphoma in April 1970.[12]
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,[13] which became an internationalbestseller.
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.[14]
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"[15] and a diet high in dietary fibre is also advised as a precaution against other diseases such asheart disease anddiabetes.[16]
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.[17][18][19]
Academic journals
Books
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