Spectrum of cervical cancer among women screened for cervical cancer in Nakuru County Referral Hospital Laboratory, Kenya

Abstract

Abstract Introduction/Objective Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Kenya and the second most common cancer among females. However, the prevalence of this type of cancer at Nakuru county is not known. We sought to establish the spectrum of this cancer among women who were attended at Nakuru county referral Hospital between 2015-2019. Methods/Case Report A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among women screened for cervical cancer between January 2015 and December 2019. One thousand and thirty-one (1031) records were retrieved. Data extracted were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Approval to conduct the study was obtained from the hospital institutional review board; Results (if a Case Study enter NA) Among the 1,031 women whose records were reviewed, 81 (7.9%) had lesions, while 950 (92.1%) had no lesions. Results for pre-cancerous and cancerous according to age group were as follows: 15 – 25 years (3.4%), 26 – 35 (6.3%), 36 – 45 (10.1%), 46 – 55 (5.2%), 56 – 65 (8.9%), 66 – 75 (15.1%), 76 years and above (4.5%). Those who had HSIL were 4.9%, LSIL 2.3%, ASC-H 0.4% and ISCC 0.2% respectively. Conclusion The percentage for pre-cancerous and Cancerous lesions of women of younger age group between 15–25 years was low at 3.4% while percentage for older age group for pre-cancerous and Cancerous lesions was at 10.1%, 8.9% and 5.2% respectively. This necessitates the need for increased campaigns for cytology screening for cervical lesions. This would reduce morbidity and mortality associated with cancer of the cervix.