Vagina lesions seen at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Due to the relative rarity of data on vaginal lesions in Nigeria, it is important that we study these lesions and report the data for comparison with other regions of the world and for use in future studies. Our study's objective is to provide baseline data for upcoming research by describing the vaginal lesions seen in biopsies received in our department over five years. We carried out a retrospective study on all vagina specimens received by the department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic medicine at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022. During the study period, 22 vaginal samples were received, from patients with age ranging from 26 to 84 years. This accounts for 0.16% of all biopsies received at the centre. The most common malignant tumour was squamous cell carcinoma, which accounted for four cases. One of the squamous cell carcinomas was well differentiated (keratinized); the other three were moderately differentiated (non-keratinized). One case of adenosquamous carcinoma and one case of metastatic choriocarcinoma were seen. Two cases of adenocarcinoma were seen. Vaginal lesions are seldom seen at our facility. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the vaginal epithelium seen in our centre. Choriocarcinoma can be found in the wall of the vagina. The lack of preinvasive lesions in our analysis might be the result of gynaecologists' unwillingness to obtain biopsies of non-tumoral vaginal lesions or of patients coming to clinics later than expected.