Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription or Fee Access

MALIGNANT OROFACIAL NEOPLASMS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

G.T. AROTIBA, A.L. LADEINDE, J.O. OYENEYIN, C.C. NWAWOLO, A.A.F. BANJO, O.F. AJAYI

Abstract


Objectives: To analyse general differences in age, gender, anatomic location of the various histological types of malignant neoplasm involving the oral and maxillofacial region at a tertiary referral centre in Nigeria and to compare this with reports in the literature.
Design: Retrospective analysis.
Setting: A tertiary referral centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
Subjects: All patients with a histological diagnosis of malignancy were included provided the final surgical histology reports as well as the biopsy reports were available for review.
Results: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) with a peak age incidence in the 6th decade of life and a male to female ratio of 1.65 to 1 was the most common cancer (42.8%). Males with SCCA (mean = 48.7 years) were relatively younger than females (mean = 58. 8 years). Eighteen percent of patients with SCCA were below 40 years at presentation and males were predominantly affected at a ratio
of 5.2:1. Majority of the SCCA (75%) were well /moderately well differentiated. However, in patients below 40 years, 45.9% had poorly differentiated SCCA.
The Most commonly affected sites for SCCA were the maxillary antrum (36.7%), mandibular gingiva/alveolus (23.0%) and tongue (12.04%). Patients who presented with antral SCCA were relatively younger (mean = 48.9 years) than those who had SCCA involving the mandibular gingiva/ alveolus (mean = 57.l years) as well as floor of mouth (mean = 56.3 years). Furthermore, males with
antral SCCA were younger than their female counterparts. Similarly, males who had mandibular gingiva/ alveolus SCCA (mean = 48.4 years) were younger than their female counterparts (mean = 62.8 years). Majority of the glandular carcinomas (GLDCAs) arose from minor salivary glands (63.0%). Thirty seven per cent of these patients were below 40 years at presentation. Females who
had antral GLDCA (mean = 32.4 years) were relatively younger than their male counterparts (mean = 49 years). Most of the patients who presented with sarcoma were below 40 years (77.4%) and males were younger (22. 8 years) than females (mean = 35.4 years).
Conclusions: The proportion of orofacial cancers that is SCCA in Nigerians is relatively low because of a relatively high proportion of GLDCA and Burkitt’s lymphoma. A relatively high proportion of patients with SCCA were below 40 years at presentation. They were predominantly males who presented with poorly differentiated tumours.

Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


The East African Medical Journal is published monthly by Kenya Medical Association.

For more information, contact The Editor-in-Chief email: eamj@wananchi.com Tel 254-020-3864513, Fax:254-020-3864514