A Histopathological Review of Cancer in Katsina State North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cancer is a public health concern globally, especially in Africa, and its incidence and mortality are rapidly growing. Materials and Methods: This was a 10-year review of all cancer cases received from 1 st January 2012 to 31st December 2021 in the pathology laboratories of Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, General Hospital Katsina and General Amadi Rimi Specialist Hospital Katsina. Data were obtained from departmental laboratory record registers, analyzed and organized into specific organ sites as categorized by the International Classification for Diseases for Oncology and presented in tables and charts according to organ sites and systems. Results: A total of 13,500 surgical specimens were received in the laboratories of which 2,359 (17.5%) were confirmed to be cancers. It involved 1378 females and 982 males with mean ages of 45.75 and 51.42 respectively, and a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.4. Cancer cases ranged between 2 months to 101 years with a mean age ± SD of 48.1± 19.7. The most common adult cancers were breast (19.3%), prostate (14.4%) and cervical (12.0%) with a median age of occurrence in the 5th, 8th and 6th decade respectively. The top paediatric cancers were retinoblastoma (15.8%), rhabdomyosarcoma (15.3%), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (10%) and Burkitt lymphoma (8.8%). The most commonly affected systems were the female genital tract (18.7%), breast (18%) and male genital tract (13.7%). Conclusion: This study shows that 1 in 6 surgical specimens received in the laboratories in Katsina are cancers with an overall increase over the years. The frequency, patterns, histological types and sociodemographic characteristics were determined. This will hopefully serve as baseline data for future cancer control policies and strategies including the establishment of a population-based cancer registry in the state.