Multiple primary cancers: Simultaneously occurring prostate cancer and other primary tumors-our experience and literature search.

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death in men all over the world, and it is becoming an increasing public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa. In our practice, we identified that prostate cancer co-existed with other primary cancers even in noncontiguous regions of the body and this co-existence impacted on our management of these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied a 2-year period (June 2012-July 2014), the records of patients in our hospital with prostate cancer, who in addition, had other primary cancers; and studied the management and outcomes of these patients. We also reviewed the existing literatures for possible biologic links between prostatic carcinoma and other primary tumors. RESULTS: There were six patients with multiple primary cancers who had prostate cancers. The age range was 60-84 years and the mean age of 72.2 ± 0.4 years. The primary tumors co-existing with prostate cancer were colonic adenocarcinoma, rectal adenocarcinoma, urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma, primary liver cell carcinoma, and thyroid follicular carcinoma in both synchronous and metachronous relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate cancers often co-exist with other cancers. The precise mechanism by which prostate cancer co-exists with another primary cancer is yet to be clearly defined. With more study of the syndromic cancers involving the prostate, definite associations could be identified, and this may help in managing these patients better.

Genital self-mutilation.

We present a case report of a 22-year-old Nigerian student who presented to the accident and emergency unit of a Nigerian Teaching Hospital with a history of self-inflicted genital injury following a suicide attempt. He had background history of predisposition to depressive illness, a current diagnosis of a major depressive disorder, and had had two attempted suicidal episodes in the last 3 months prior to this event. The clinical finding shows a patient with sad affect, feeling of hopelessness, and worthlessness; however, the vital signs remained fairly stable. At examination under anesthesia, the testes were exposed and the right already self-castrated. The penis was degloved to the level of the Buck's fascia with intact corpora cavernosa and urethra. He had surgical excision of the hanging self-castrated right testis with debridement and primary closure of the genital laceration. He was promptly reviewed by the psychiatrists who co-managed appropriately.

Knowledge of prostate cancer screening among native African urban population in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the must commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide and ranked second as the cause of death in cancer-related diseases. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the awareness and attitude of the populace to screening for cancer of the prostate. METHODS: It is a cross-sectional study involving 156 respondents. A structured questionnaire detailing the biodata, the knowledge of cancer of prostate, the practice of screening by prostate specific antigen (PSA) estimation and the readiness to undergo screening by the respondent was used to obtain the set-out objectives. RESULTS: A total of 156 respondents completed the questionnaire and forms the basis of further analysis. The mean age of the respondents is 44.15 (+/- 11.9) years. Majority of the respondents were civil servant (51.9%) followed closely by politicians. About 23.1% of them have no formal education while 53.8% have acquired tertiary education. The result shows that 78.8% have never heard any information on cancer of the prostate and only 5.8% had heard about PSA. None of the respondents have ever had PSA test, even once. Eighty four per cent of the respondents are ready to pay for prostate cancer screening test by PSA assay. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there is remarkable lack of awareness of prostate cancer among the Nigerian native African urban populace. Prostate cancer screening and serum PSA test for screening is globally unknown among them.

Knowledge of Prostate Cancer Screening among Native African Urban Population in Nigeria

Background: Prostate cancer is the must commonlydiagnosed cancer in men worldwide and ranked second as the cause of death in cancer-related diseases. Objective: To evaluate the awareness and attitude of the populace to screening for cancer of the prostate. Methods: It is a cross-sectional study involving 156 respondents. A structured questionnaire detailing the biodata, the knowledge of cancer of prostate, the practice of screening by prostate specific antigen (PSA) estimation and the readiness to undergo screening by the respondent was used to obtain the set-out objectives. Results: A total of 156 respondents completed the questionnaire and forms the basis of further analysis. The mean age of the respondents is 44.15 (±11.9) years. Majority of the respondents were civil servant (51.9%) followed closely by politicians. About 23.1% of them have no formal education while 53.8% have acquired tertiary education. The result shows that 78.8% have never heard any information on cancer of the prostate and only 5.8% had heard about PSA. None of the respondents have ever had PSA test, even once. Eighty four per cent of the respondents are ready to pay for prostate cancer screening test by PSA assay. Conclusion: We conclude that there is remarkable lack of awareness of prostate cancer among the Nigerian native African urban populace. Prostate cancer screening and serum PSA test for screening is globally unknown among them

Salt intake and blood pressure in Nigerian hypertensive patients.

Discretionary salt intake (habitual) of male and female Nigerian hypertensive patients presenting in hospital was assessed and this was correlated with their blood pressure. Their salt intake was assessed by questionnaires and direct interview following detailed explanation. They were categorised into low, moderate and high salt intake groups according to a standard criterion. The 114 hypertensive patients (52 males; 62 females) were aged 26-80 years (mean 52.2+/-1.8 (S.E.M.) males; 53.7+/-1.7 females, P=0.5). Those on medication were generally poorly compliant with uncontrolled blood pressure at presentation. Fifty percent belonged to the moderate salt intake group. No female reported high salt intake. In the males, the mean DBP in the high salt intake group was significantly higher than in the moderate and low intake groups (123.5+/-4.4, 108.3+/-3.9 and 99.3+/-7.7 mmHg; P<0.02 and P<0.009, respectively). There was no significant difference between the mean DBP of the low and moderate salt intake groups (P>0.1). The SBP is also consistently higher from the low to the high salt intake groups (162.1+/-15.5, 179.3+/-7.4 and 180.8+/-7.6 mmHg, respectively), although the difference is not statistically significant (P>0.1). The BMI did not differ between the salt groups (P>0.5) and there was no correlation between BMI and blood pressure (P>0.05). The study suggests that the higher the salt intake, the higher the blood pressure, particularly the diastolic, in male hypertensive patients. The picture in the female is unclear, since none reported a high salt intake. Reduced salt intake might, therefore, be beneficial in black hypertensive patients, in the setting of common presentation at the stage of cardiac decompensation.

Effects of sex steroids on protein synthesis in cultured human lymphocytes.

In cultured human lymphocytes, oestrogen and progesterone at concentrations found in plasma during the normal menstrual cycle, significantly increase the incorporation of [35S] methionine into protein and, in addition, both hormones significantly alter the relative synthesis of certain proteins. At concentrations found in plasma during pregnancy, some changes are augmented while others are reversed. These specific sex-steroid-induced changes in protein synthesis provide possible peripheral biological markers of hormone action which may be tested for their association with predisposition to, and/or onset of, conditions such as postpartum psychiatric illness.