FEMALE GENITAL TRACT CANCERS IN SAGAMU, SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA.

OBJECTIVE: To describe pattern of female genital tract cancers seen at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Nigeria.

DESIGN: This is a retrospective review of all cases of female genital tract cancers managed at the Gynaecology department of OOUTH, Sagamu, Nigeria.

SETTING: OOUTH is a tertiary health institution of the State's university and it takes referrals from within and outside the State.

SUBJECTS: Case records of all female genital tract cancers managed between January 2004 and December 2013 were retrieved and analysed using SPSS version 16.0.

RESULTS: There were 2059 women treated forvarious gynaecologic conditions, 179 (8.7%) were cases of female genital tract cancers and 161 records were available for analysis. Cervical cancer constituted the commonest (51.6%), followed by ovarian (35.4%), endometrial (9.9%), and choriocarcinoma (1.9%). There were no cases of vaginal and fallopian tube cancers. The lowest mean age was found in choriocarcinoma (36.60 ± 4.50 years) and highest in vulvar cancer (70.00 ± 2.82 years). The mean ages for cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancers were (51.98 ± 12.39), (65.38 ± 7.24), and (54.42 ± 10.51) years respectively. Similarly the least mean parity was found in choriocarcinoma (2.33 ± 1.52), and the highest in vulvar cancer (6.00 ± 1.44). The mean parity for cervical, endometrial, and ovarian were (4.10 ± 1.49),(3.06 ± 1.48), and (3.72 ± 1.68) respectively. These differences are statistically significant, age; F = 7.61, p < 0.0001, and parity; F = 3.27, p= 0.013.

CONCLUSION: Incidence of cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers remain high and presentations are at late stages. There is a need to improve on cervical cancer screening, and for the attending physicians to improve on their indices of suspicions as regards endometrial and ovarian cancers.