ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the spectrum of malignancies in the Allahabad region of North India. This was a hospital-based analysis of malignancies from January 1991 to October 2006. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The basic information in the cancer registry included data on personal identification, demographic characteristics, diagnosis, primary site and morphology of tumours. The basis of diagnosis was histological examination of the biopsy material. RESULTS: Total of 58,031 biopsies were examined, out of which 3,133 (5.4%) were diagnosed as malignancies. Of these, 1,893 (60.4%) patients were males and 1,240 (39.6%) were females, yielding a male: female sex ratio of 1.5:1. The majority of cases (2,772, 88.5%) were above the age of 30, with predominance at 41-50 years of age group (804, 25.6%). Most commonly reported tumours were those of oral cavity (370; 11.8%), oesophagus (267; 8.5%), stomach (239, 7.6%), oropharynx (207, 6.6%), cervix (192, 6.1%), breast (190, 6.0%), larynx (101, 3.2%), skin (81, 3.2%), prostate (77, 2.4%) and the urinary bladder (66, 2.1%). CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded from this retrospective study of tumours reported at this hospital over 16 years, that oral and oropharyngeal malignancies were the commonest malignancies in men, while in females, carcinoma of cervix and breast were the most frequent.