Epithelial ovarian cancer at a cancer hospital in a developing country.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze records of patients seen with malignant epithelial ovarian cancer at a tertiary care cancer hospital in Pakistan and obtain information on factors as laterality, histology, CA-125 levels, and stage of the disease, determine age at presentation and, assess menopausal status of the patients. Also, to review results obtained in light of data published in indexed journals. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed 544 cases of malignant ovarian epithelial tumors registered at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center from December 1994-December 2003. RESULTS: Mean age at presentation: 48.1 years (SD 13, range 4-82 years); commonest histological sub-type: serous cystadenocarcinoma (28.6%); most frequently seen stage: 3 (43.5%), followed by stage 4 (22.4%); post-menopausal: 56.8% of the women; bilateral disease: 41.2% of the women; and Cancer Antigen-125 (CA-125) level: elevated in 70% of the females. CONCLUSIONS: Stage at presentation in majority of the cases was advanced as compared to that seen in the west. With only minor variations, our findings seem consistent with those reported in other local studies. However, it is imperative to conduct an extensive population-based study to understand the impact of, and develop strategies for the management of ovarian cancer in Pakistan.

Hodgkin's lymphoma in Pakistan: a clinico-epidemiological study of 658 cases at a cancer center in Lahore.

OBJECTIVES: To study the clinico-epidemiological profile of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in Pakistan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied all histopathologically proven cases of HL, who presented between Dec 1995 to June 2003 at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Hospital (SKMCH & RC). All the relevant information was obtained through the hospital based cancer registry and medical records of the selected patients. RESULTS: Six hundred and fifty eight histopathologically confirmed cases of HL were identified. There were 505 males and 153 females, with a male to female ratio of 3.3: 1. Patients ranged in age from 1 year - 84 years. The mean age at presentation was 23.8 years. Three hundred and twenty cases (48.6%) belonged to age group <or= 18 years and 338 cases (51.4%) were > 18 years of age. Histopathologically, mixed cellularity (MC) constituted 63.8% of cases, followed by nodular sclerosis (NS) 19.9%, lymphocyte predominant (LP) 7.3% and lymphocyte depleted (LD) 1.2%. Early stage (stage I and II) disease was present in 43.9% of patients at presentation, while 56.1% patients presented with advanced stage (stage III and IV). The majority of patients (81.2%) presented with cervical lymphadenopathy. CONCLUSION: The clinico-epidemiological pattern of Hodgkin's lymphoma in Pakistan manifested is similar to that observed in other developing countries, with male predominance, mixed cellularity as the commonest histological type, advanced stage at presentation and absence of bimodal age distribution.