ORBITAL AND ADNEXAL LYMPHOMAS AMONG ADULT PATIENTS IN GHANA.

Background: Non Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) present variously in different ethnic communities. Orbital and adnexal disorders have been reported among NHLs in Africa. They can involve the orbit, the eyelid, the conjunctiva, alone or in combinations. To our knowledge there are no reports in the literature about the clinical presentation of lymphomas in Ghana.

Aim: To explored orbital and adnexal disorders among adult patients attending the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital, Accra.

Methodology: Histological case notes of patients reporting to the orbital clinic of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Eye Department from November 2004 to October 2016 with orbital and adnexial lympho-proliferative tumors were retrieved. Histopathology was performed at Sheffield Teaching hospital. Data collected included age, sex, symptoms at presentation and anatomic site of involvement. Histology and immune histochemistry data were generated.

Results: A total of 18 patients were examined and entered into the study. The male to female ratio was 1.25:1. Twelve patients (70.6) presented with proptosis and 14 (77.8%) had orbital involvement. Two patients had isolated eyelid disease. Of those with orbital disease, three had simultaneously upper eyelid involvement. Out of the 18 cases, 11 (61.1%) were mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas. Only males 40 years and above were affected, compared with females who presented at any age. Patients above 60 years reported early (i.e. <3 months) compared with patients below 40 years who mostly reported after 1 year.

Conclusion: This study reports pattern of epidemiological and clinical presentation of orbital and adnexal lymphomas as seen in Ghana, West Africa. Though there were some variations in the clinical presentation the histological subtypes represented seem to be similar to those reported in other parts of the world.