Prostate specific antigen versus digital rectal examination as screening for ca prostate in Sudanese patients

The aim of this study is to compare the value of digital rectal examination [DRE] and prostate specific antigen [PSA] determination in the detection of prostate cancer among Sudanese patients presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms [LUTS]. A prospective study was carried out in Gezira Hospital for Renal Diseases and Surgery in the period of June 2003- May 2005. Patients presenting with LUTS, had been screened for prostate cancer using PSA and DRE examination.. Serum PSA and DRE were measured in all patients. Trans rectal biopsy was performed if the PSA was over 4ng and /or abnormal DRE. A total of 124 elderly male pa3ents presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms [LUTS], 140 of them were at last diagnosed as benign prostate hyperplasia [BPH] and 54 patients were been confirmed with prostate cancer [PCa]. Their mean age was 65 years [range 45-20]. Elevated level of PSA [> 4 ng/ml] was found in all the patients with prostate cancer [n= 54] and 68.6% [n= 26] of 4PH patients. The rate of prostate cancer detection showed to be 25.7% for PSA > 4ng/ml, 13.31% for abnormal [positive] finding of DRE, and 27.8% for combination of the positive DRE and PSA > 4 ng/ml. The rate of 4PH detec3on showed to be 68.6% for PSA > 4ng/ml, 28.6% for positive finding of DRE, and 4.1% for combination of the positive DRE and PSA > 4 ng/ml. It was found that PSA determination detects a considerable proportion of tumors missed by DRE. And the combination of PSA and DRE escalates the probability of prostate cancer detection

Histopathological patterns of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Sudan

To study the histological patterns of nasopharyngeal carcinoma NPC in Sudanese patients and to compare them with the internationally published series. A retrospective review for records of NPC patients treated in the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Biology and Oncology INMO, Wadmedani, Sudan, during the period 2000-2005 was conducted. Parameters included in the review were histological types of NPC according to the World Health Organization WHO classification, age, gender, locality, ethnicity, and stage. All cases of NPC with positive histology were included while other types of histology lymphoma, sarcoma were excluded. The SPSS software was used for data entry and analysis. Total number of patients with NPC was 103. Age range from 11-82 years, median was 41 years, and mean was 45.5 years of age. Male:female ratio was 2:1. The WHO histology type-3 was 73.8% of cases, WHO type-2 was 26.2%, and there was no case of WHO type-1 found in this study population. Neck swelling is the most common presenting symptom 77.8%.Pattern of NPC classification resembles those seen in endemic areas like South China. Dominant histology was WHO type-3. Identifying risk factors for NPC in Sudan is required