Histologic Analysis of Gynaecologic Lesions in Nigerians

Background : Gynaecological neoplasms are a cause of significant morbidity and mortality in females all over the world. Objective : To determine the pattern of gynaecological lesions seen in Me Cure Healthcare, Lagos  Nigeria. Design : A descriptive retrospective study. Setting : Histopathology section of Me Cure Healthcare Limited from August 2009 to August 2014. Subjects : Histopathological reports and paraffin sections of gynaecologic lesions/ specimens which were diagnosed by Me Cure Healthcare. Results : A total of 691 gynaecologic specimens were received. The youngest patient was 14 years, while the oldest patient was 79 years with a mean age of 40.47 years and Std of ± 10.59. Eighty three percent  of specimens were benign neoplastic lesions, while 5.9% of specimens were malignant neoplastic   lesions. Uterine leiomyomas were the most common lesions and majority of them were seen in age  groups 30-39 and 40-49 years. Simple endometrial hyperplasia without atypia accounted for most   endometrial lesions (52,3%) and were seen more in age groups 30-39 and 40-49 years. Most ovarian  lesions (45.9%) were non neoplastic cysts and seen more in age groups 20-29 and 30-39 years. The  cancers seen were those of the cervix (56.1%), endometrium (22%), ovary (14.6%), uterus (4.9%) and choriocarcinoma (2.4%) in that order. Cervical cancer was seen in 36.5% of cervical lesions and involved mainly age groups; 30-39 years, 50-59 years and 60-69 years (each of these age groups had five cases). The mean age for cases of cancer of the cervix was 50 years Std ± 13.0 and all the age groups except 10-19 years were involved. Conclusion : Benign lesions were the most common with uterine leiomyoma accounting for most of them, while cervical carcinoma was the the common gynaecological cancer. Endometrial cancer cases were noted to be on the rise.