Denis Parsons Burkitt

Denis Parsons Burkitt FRS (28 February 1911 – 23 March 1993) was a surgeon who made significant advances in health, such as the etiology of a pediatric cancer, now called Burkitt's lymphoma, and the finding that the rates of colorectal cancer is higher in those who eat limited dietary fiber.

Life and death
Burkitt was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland. He was the son of James Parsons Burkitt, a civil engineer. Aged eleven he lost his right eye in an accident. He attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and Dean Close School, England. In 1929 Burkitt entered Trinity College, Dublin, to study engineering, but believing his evangelical calling was to be a doctor, he transferred to medicine. In 1938 he passed the Edinburgh Royal College of Surgeons fellowship examinations. On 28 July 1943 he married Olive Rogers.

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.

Burkitt was president of the Christian Medical Fellowship and wrote frequently on religious/medical themes. He received the Bower Award and Prize in 1992. He died on 23 March 1993 in Gloucester and was buried in Bisley, Gloucestershire, England.

Scientific contributions
Burkitt made two major contributions to medical science related to his experience in Africa.

Burkitt's lymphoma
The first was the description, distribution, and ultimately, the etiology of a pediatric cancer that bears his name, Burkitt's lymphoma.

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 tumors." "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" 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. Burkitt published A sarcoma involving the jaws of African children. The newly identified cancer became known as "Burkitt's lymphoma". He went on to map the geographical distribution of the tumour. Burkitt, together with Dr. Dennis Wright, published a book titled Burkitt's Lymphoma in April 1970.

Dietary fiber
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, which was an international bestseller.

Although one study showed that people who eat very low levels of fiber — less than 10 grams per day — had an 18 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer, the more general idea that colon cancer is a fiber deficiency disease is now considered incorrect by some cancer researchers. Nevertheless, research suggests that a diet high in dietary fiber is advised as a precaution against other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. He had an alternative theory, published in numerous articles and books, that the use of the natural squatting position for defecation protects the natives of Africa and Asia from gastrointestinal diseases.

Publications by Burkitt
Academic journals

Books
 * Kellock B, Burkitt D. P. The Fibre Man: The Life-story of Dr. Denis Burkitt: Lion Pub.; 1985.
 * Kellock B, Burkitt D. P. The Fibre Man: The Life-story of Dr. Denis Burkitt: Lion Pub.; 1985.