Pediatric malignancies in Kano, Northern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: With effective immunization control of several devastating childhood infections in the developing world, non-infectious diseases such as malignancies have become increasingly important causes of pediatric morbidity and mortality. Therefore this 10-year retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate and document the pattern of childhood cancers in our locality. METHODS: We reviewed 438 childhood (≤15 years) malignancies diagnosed at the histopathology and hematology laboratories of our teaching hospital in a 10-year period (2001-2010). RESULTS: The 438 malignancies comprised 10.9% of all cancers. The maligancies frequently seen in early childhood (0-4 years) accounted for 46.1% and in late childhood (5-9 years) for 34.7%. Retinoblastoma (30.6%), Burkitt lymphoma (19.9%) and acute leukemia (16.9%) were the most common pediatric cancers. Unlike in most other parts of the world, acute myeloid leukemia was slightly more prevalent than acute lymphoblastic leukemia. CONCLUSIONS: Although there were notable differences, our findings were in broad agreement with those of most other sub-Saharan African series, but differed markedly from those in the Western world and other high income countries. Further studies are required to identify the environmental factors for the high prevalence of nonfamilial retinoblastoma and possibly acute myeloid leukemia.

A review of the utilization of fine needle aspiration in clinical practice and research in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Research and publications are critical to advancements in the quality of healthcare delivery. This article attempts to highlight the prospects and challenges of fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology as a tool for research in Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data available in local and international bibliographic databases for the period 1986-2005 (20 years) were collated and analyzed. RESULTS: The theme of Nigerian FNA-focused studies correlated with the recognized disease patterns in the country which are tuberculous lymphadenitis, breast tumors and Burkitt's lymphoma. The accuracy of FNA in these situations was high and comparable to the experience in developed countries. It was found that the total number of articles published during two contiguous periods (1986-1995 and 1996-2005) had increased from 5 to 18. Also, in majority of cases, the articles were not published in specialized pathology journals. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of FNA is apparently lagging in Nigeria. Given its potential in resource-constrained settings, we are of the opinion that it should be used more often in clinical and translational research.

A histopathologic study of salivary gland tumors in Kano, northern Nigeria.

Significant differences in the global distribution of salivary gland tumors have been reported, but no formal study has been carried out here in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria. We therefore undertook this eight-year retrospective study of all histologically diagnosed salivary neoplasms at the histopathology laboratory of our referral teaching hospital in Kano. Seventy-eight salivary gland tumors were diagnosed during the eight-year study period accounting for 0.4% of all neoplasms. Benign tumors were more prevalent, comprising 56.4%, while malignancies were 43.6%. Pleomorphic adenoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma were the commonest histological types constituting 48.7% and 23.1% respectively, while the most frequent sites were parotid, submandibular and minor salivary glands accounting for 49%, 26% and 24% respectively. As in most studies of black populations there were no adenolymphomas. Age distribution was bimodal with a benign peak in the third decade and a malignant peak in the sixth. Our findings were broadly similar to most other African reports but somewhat at variance with Western literature. Improved hospital attendance with more comprehensive reporting would yield more representative data.