An Assessment of Ovarian Cancer Histotypes Across the African Diaspora.

OBJECTIVE: Ovarian cancer in Black women is common in many West African countries but is relatively rare in North America. Black women have worse survival outcomes when compared to White women. Ovarian cancer histotype, diagnosis, and age at presentation are known prognostic factors for outcome. We sought to conduct a preliminary comparative assessment of these factors across the African diaspora. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer (all histologies) between June 2016-December 2019 in Departments of Pathology at 25 participating sites in Nigeria were identified. Comparative population-based data, inclusive of Caribbean-born Blacks (CBB) and US-born Blacks (USB), were additionally captured from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and Florida Cancer Data Systems. Histology, country of birth, and age at diagnosis data were collected and evaluated across the three subgroups: USB, CBB and Nigerians. Statistical analyses were done using chi-square and student's t-test with significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: Nigerians had the highest proportion of germ cell tumor (GCT, 11.5%) and sex-cord stromal (SCST, 16.2%) ovarian cancers relative to CBB and USB (p=0.001). CBB (79.4%) and USB (77.3%) women were diagnosed with a larger proportion of serous ovarian cancer than Nigerians (60.4%) (p<0.0001). Nigerians were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancers at the youngest age (51.7± 12.8 years) relative to USB (58.9 ± 15.0) and CBB (59.0± 13.0,p<0.001). Black women [CBB (25.2 ± 15.0), Nigerians (29.5 ± 15.1), and USB (33.9 ± 17.9)] were diagnosed with GCT younger than White women (35.4 ± 20.5, p=0.011). Black women [Nigerians (47.5 ± 15.9), USB (50.9 ± 18.3) and CBB (50.9 ± 18.3)] were also diagnosed with SCST younger than White women (55.6 ± 16.5, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: There is significant variation in age of diagnosis and distribution of ovarian cancer histotype/diagnosis across the African diaspora. The etiology of these findings requires further investigation.

Intrarenal teratoma: report of two cases seen in a 31-year retrospective study at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

UNLABELLED: Germ cell neoplasms which have the potentials of differentiating along somatic cell lines are regarded as teratomas. They are mature teratomas when tissues are fully differentiated and immature teratomas when primitive or immature tissue elements are present. In this retrospective study, we analyzed all the renal biopsies submitted to the Department of Pathology of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, South-West Nigeria over a thirty one year period (1981-2011). Over the period, a total of 119,986 specimens were received for histological assessment and only 1,027 (0.86%) represented kidney specimens which included all the trucut biopsies and nephrectomies. Two (0.19%) of the nephrectomy specimens from a one-year and a five-month old children were diagnosed as mature and immature cystic teratoma respectively. The sample from the one-year-old child was heavy (810 g), cystic and measured 17 x 10 x 10 cm. On microscopy, the tissues were predominantly mature neural tissue, mature skeletal muscle, cartilage and foci of normal kidney tissue while the sample from the five month old child was almost double the weight of the former (1600 g) and measured 18 x 14 x 9 cm. Cut sections revealed cystic and solid areas comprising bone, glial tissue, primitive neuroectodermal tissue, choroid plexus, immature cartilage, skeletal muscle, fat, intestinal tissue, breast structures,odontogenic and squamous epithelial tissues on microscopy. CONCLUSION: Cystic teratoma is a rare occurrence in kidneys.

A six-year study of the clinical presentation of cervical cancer and the management challenges encountered at a state teaching hospital in southeast Nigeria.

Cervical cancer is still a major contributor to cancer-related mortality amongst women living in poor, rural communities of developing countries. The objective of this study is to establish the clinical presentation of cervical cancer and the management challenges encountered in Abakaliki, southeast Nigeria, with a view to finding intervention strategies. This study is a retrospective descriptive assessment of cases of clinically diagnosed cervical cancer managed at a state teaching hospital over six years. Of 76 cases managed, 61 (80.3%) cases notes were available for study. The mean age and parity of patients were 53.8 years and 6.8 years, respectively. The majority (75.4%) were illiterate. All had been married, but 42.6% were widowed. The main occupations were farming or petty trading. One patient (1.6%) had had a single Pap smear in her life. The major presenting complaints were abnormal vaginal bleeding (86.9%), offensive vaginal discharge (41.0%), and weight loss. Twenty patients (32.8%) were lost to follow-up prior to staging. Of the remaining 41 patients, 16 (39.0%) had stage III disease and 17.1% stage IV. Fifteen patients (24.6%) with late stage disease accepted referral, and were referred for radiotherapy. Those who declined were discharged home on request, though 4 (9.8%) died in the hospital. There was no feedback from referred patients confirming that they went and benefitted from the referral. The presentation followed known trends. Illiteracy, poverty, early marriages, high parity, widowhood, non-use of screening methods, late presentation, non-acceptance of referral, and lack of communication after referral were some of the major challenges encountered. These underscore the needs for health education and awareness creation, women educational and economic empowerment, legislation against early marriages and in protection of widows, and creation of a well-staffed and well-equipped dedicated gynecologic oncology unit to forestall further referral.