Clinicopathological profile of female genital tract malignancies reported at a tertiary care center in Northern India

Abstract

The proportion of cancers of genital tract origin in females ranges from 22.4% to 55.8% in India; thus posing a major health problem. The first step in controlling the cancer burden in any population is to collect information about its salient features in that particular cohort of patients. This study was performed to ascertain the profile of female genital tract malignancies reported at our center regarding the relative frequency of involvement of various sites, age and symptoms at presentation and histological subtypes.All the confirmed cases of female genital tract malignancies received in the Department of Pathology were studied for a period of 2 years from November 2008 to October 2010.A total of 175 cases were reported. The anatomic distributions were: cervix 123 (70.3%), uterus 11 (6.3%), ovary 30 (17.1%), vagina 4 (2.3%), vulva 5 (2.9%) and fallopian tube 2 (1.1%). The mean ages of women diagnosed with these cancers were: cervix (51.1 years), uterus (54.5 years), ovary (46.5 years), vagina (57 years), vulva (54.5 years) and fallopian tube (49.5 years). Women with cervical and uterine malignancies presented commonly with bleeding per vaginum; while those with ovarian malignancies presented mostly with abdominal mass. Women with vaginal and vulval malignancy presented with ulcers and masses. The most common histological subtypes at different sites were; Cervix: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (87%); Uterus: Endometrioid adenocarcinoma (81.8%); Ovary: Serous cystadenocarcinoma (53.3%); Vagina: SCC (75%); Vulva: SCC (60%) and Fallopian tube (50% adenocarcinoma and 50 % metastatic carcinoma).As female genital tract malignancies form a huge burden of morbidity and mortality in India, there is a need to establish better screening programmes aimed at early detection and educate the public regarding the risk factors as well as early symptoms of the disease so that people can adapt appropriate behaviour.