Genital tract malignancies in Trinidad

ABSTRACT

In Trinidad, genital tract malignancy is the leading cause of death and the commonest of all female cancers, constituting 38.9 per cent of all malignant neoplasms. This clinico-pathological study comprised 82 patients who were diagnosed as having a genital organ malignancy at the Mount Hope Women's Hospital, during a five year period between November, 1981 and October, 1986. The malignancies were categorized by site and broad-type, based on the Sixth International Classification of Diseases. Carcinoma of the cervix was the commonest malignancy (62.2) percent after the age of 25. It was 3.2 times more frequent than corpus uteri cancer, and the mean age at presentation was 54.4 years. Endometrial carcinoma was found only in post-menopausal patients presenting with bleeding at a higher mean age of 63.2 years (0.05>p>.02). Diabetes mellitus, obesity and hypertension were more commonly associated with endometrial carcinoma than with carcinoma of the cervix, but only hypertension significantly so(.01>p>.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence in both major ethnic groups in endometrial and cervical carcinoma. However, only one Muslim patient had a genital tract cancer (p<.05). Forty-four per cent of our patients with Stage I cervical carcinoma were in the reproductive age group (AU)