Bladder Cancer in a Tertiary Health Institution in Northwestern Nigeria: A Thirty-Year Histopathological Review

Abstract

Malignant neoplasms of the bladder rank below common cancers such as breast, colon, cervix, liver, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and  constitute less than 5% of all malignant tumours in most centres in Nigeria. The study analyzed all diagnosed malignant urinary bladder  neoplasms in the departmental registry and clinical biodata were added. Consultants reviewed previously diagnosed cases, retrieved  broken or faded tissue blocks, and stained them with Haematoxylin and Eosin. Tumours were classified according to the 2016 WHO  classification of urinary bladder neoplasms. A total of 308 malignant urinary bladder neoplasms were found in 775 urinary bladder  biopsies, with an annual prevalence of 39.7%. The most prevalent malignancies were infiltrative urothelial carcinoma and squamous cell  carcinoma, which together accounted for 169 (54.9%) cases and 37.7% of all cases, respectively. The least frequent types of tumours were  mesenchymal and glandular, accounting for 4.2% of cases. Males between the ages of 40 and 59 had the highest incidence. This study  confirms that urinary bladder malignancies are uncommon as it was recorded in other centres in the country. It also shows that  infiltrative urothelial carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas are slightly equal in percentage with 46.4% and 45.6% respectively.