Pattern of occurrence of primary head and neck cancers presenting in Benin City, Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Context: Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are the 10th most common cancer globally. About half a million new cases are diagnosed yearly with an increasing incidence in developing countries. Aim: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the epidemiological and histopathological patterns of all HNCs in Benin City, Southern Nigeria, and to compare these findings with other similar research works globally. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective review of histopathology records of HNCs diagnosed over a period of 5 years (January 2008 and December 2012) at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. All specimens were fixed in 10% formalin solution, processed with Histokinette automated tissue processor, paraffin embedded, and sectioned at 3–5 microns with microtome machine before staining with hematoxylin and eosin. The histopathological diagnoses were analyzed with respect to age, sex, tumor types, and the International Classification of Disease Oncology Ninth Revision. Results: A total of 259 HNC cases were encountered. One hundred and forty males (54.1%) and 119 females (45.9%) were seen giving a ratio of 1.2:1. The mean age for all malignancies was 41.8 years ± 19.8 standard deviation of the 259 patients, 83.4% had carcinomas, 7.7% had lymphomas, 5.4% had blastomas, and 3.5% had sarcomas. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) constituted 66.9% of all carcinomas. Non-Hodgkins lymphoma accounted for 85% of all lymphomas while retinoblastoma constituted 78.6% of primitive cells. Conclusion: The larynx was the most common topographic tumor site of primary HNCs in our study and the most common HNC were of epithelial origin (carcinoma) with SCC as the most prevalent malignancy.